SIR Keir Starmer pushed for migrants to get more taxpayers’ cash to fund appeals if their asylum pleas failed.
The Labour chief’s attempt to amend the law would have seen a “wholly unmanageable system”, he was warned.
It could have seen failed asylum seekers incentivised to make another claim in order to get cash help – and may have seen people try to game the system with a “cycle” of fresh submissions, ministers told him.
Sir Keir wanted to make sure that taxpayer help was not stopped immediately after an immigration decision was made.
But he was told there was already a chunk of time in the law to protect those in genuine need if they needed to make an appeal.