Asylum seekers have been told that rape, sexual harassment and domestic abuse are illegal in the UK, in guidance for new arrivals published by the Home Office.

A nine-page online booklet covers respect in public, sex and consent, and gender equality, with guidance on how UK laws and customs may be different from their home countries.

The Conservatives said any asylum seekers breaking UK law should be deported and Reform said the publication showed the government “knows that they are a menace”.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government had “a very clear principle that if you break UK law, you will be removed from the country”.

He said the number of removals of illegal immigrants from the UK “are significantly up” and that he was working to ensure that foreign national offenders are removed from the prison system.

He added: “It follows that if we’re taking this approach, it’s made explicitly clear what the UK law is and what the societal norms of the UK are and that’s why this approach is being taken.”

According to the latest Home Office figures, a total of 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK from April 2025 to March 2026, which was down by 12% on the same period in the previous year.

The booklet sets out how asylum seekers must understand UK law, because the consequences of breaking the law mean “you could get in trouble with the police, lose your asylum support, or it could affect your asylum claim.”

A section on gender, external explains that women in the UK have equal rights to men, and do not need the permission from a husband, father, brother or any other man to do things like work, study, travel, or make decisions.

Another section on sex and consent sets out how both people must agree to sex or sexual contact of any kind, and consent cannot be given if someone is asleep, drunk, or unable to respond.

“If you have sex with someone who does not want to, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime,” the document says.

“It is still rape if: You are married to the person or in a relationship. They agreed once, but changed their mind.”

And a section headed Respect in Public outlines how it is not acceptable to whistle or make kissing noises at people on the street, nor “make sexual comments to someone, even if you think it is a compliment”.

The guidance also contains contact details for organisations for victims and those seeking help with the issues raised.

The Home Office spokesman added: “Returns of failed asylum seekers have reached their highest level since 2010 under this government.“

The latest government figures show nearly 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals have been returned or deported from the UK since Labour came to power in July 2024.

The BBC understands nearly 10,000 foreign criminals, including murderers and rapists, have been removed since the last election – a 36% increase on the previous 21 months.

The Home Office said: “We expect everyone who comes to the UK to abide by our laws. If they do not, they will face consequences, including the refusal of their asylum claim and removal from the UK.”

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Instead of trying to train these mainly young, male illegal immigrants behave in a civilised way towards women, they should be deported.”

Philp called for deportations of asylum seekers, rather than attempting to change existing behaviour.

“Immigrants are coming from places and societies where attitudes towards women can be completely incompatible with Western society,” he said.

“Too many communities are failing to properly integrate and become part of our culture, leaving frankly backwards standards to prevail.”

In a two minute video posted on social media, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf labelled the document “a disgrace”, saying: “I genuinely cannot believe what I have just read.

“The government has just published a handy guide for illegal migrants on how not to be a rapist, not to be a paedophile, how not to beat women and how to leave babies alone.

“That again may be really hard to believe but that is exactly what they have just done.”

But Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to apologise for what she claimed was a “grave error of judgement”.

“This is a dangerous and unnecessary move by the Home Office which feeds into right wing tropes,” she told Sky News, adding: “We support consent education, but it needs to be universal.”

A Labour spokesperson declined to comment. The Liberal Democrats were also contacted for comment.

Jacqueline McKenzie, head of immigration and asylum law at Leigh Day, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the material from the Home Office is “problematic, it’s inflammatory but done well it could be useful”.

“Something that could be quite good if done well and not done in a patronising way could be useful, but I’m very suspicious at the fact that the government has put this in the public domain.”

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne told the same programme that the government was “finally recognising that there’s an issue” but questioned what action would be taken.

The Conservative politician said: “Giving somebody a pamphlet saying ‘Be a good boy and don’t blow kisses at girls in this country and, by the way, girls and women have to say yes if you approach them’ is not going to cure something that is societal, it’s a cultural issue.”

Louise Calvey, executive director of the Asylum Matters charity, said: “By singling out people seeking sanctuary as in particular need of basic instruction not to commit abuse or sexual violence, the government is fuelling hostility, suspicion and racism, instead of doing any real work to promote understanding or safety.”

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