Britain on Monday said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally, in a major overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system.

In what the centre-left Labour government says is the most sweeping asylum policy overhaul of modern times, Mahmood announced changes that include quadrupling to 20 years the time refugees will have to wait to settle permanently.

The government also threatened visa bans on Angola, Namibia and DR Congo unless those countries accepted the return of illegal migrants and criminals.