Overview
- Duncan Heaster, a Carelinks volunteer, confirmed he baptised an asylum seeker in a hotel bathroom, and a now‑deleted photo appears to show a woman being baptised in a tub.
- Carelinks, linked to the Christadelphian sect, has visited migrant hotels and reported more than 260 conversions worldwide in 2024, including refugees and asylum seekers.
- A whistleblowing asylum seeker told the press that some migrants convert to Christianity to bolster their chances of staying in the UK.
- Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called bathtub baptisms “insanity” and urged an end to accepting UK conversions as a basis for asylum, with warnings about prosecuting clergy who facilitate fraud.
- The Home Office said conversions do not guarantee refugee status and each claim is assessed on its merits, while past cases since 2019 show mixed tribunal rulings and critics cite the Abdul Ezedi case to press for tighter rules.