If you work for the agency that judges requests for asylum, and you tell would-be immigrantsthat "You have been granted asylum", and lateryoudiscover a minor error in the deciding of the case, what should you do?

Because of your mistake, you should set aside any minor requirements that you failed to checkbefore. Unless perse is a serious criminal, which you ought to have checked first thing, youshould make your acceptance of per final.

What you should definitely not do is tell per, "We made a mistake in judging yourasylum request, so we have revoked your asylum. Cancel all your plans and wait while we judgethe fine details of your case. We will tell you our real decision in a year or two or three."That is cruel and inhumane.

I therefore conclude that the problem in UK asylum approvals is not a mere matter of details inthe rules. It is a deeper matter than that, a lack of sense of proportion in carrying out therules when something has gone awry. The bureaucrats have been taught to be as rigid as a badlyprogrammed computer.

Meanwhile, other asylum seekers are protesting about being sent to live on a barge moored inwhat is effectivelyanisolation camp.