Sri Lankans who apply for a visa to visit the UK are to be fingerprinted in a bid to cut down on fraudulent asylum claims. A six-month pilot scheme is due to begin this month at the British Diplomatic Mission in Colombo. Information will be stored on a database and shared with police and other law enforcement agencies, said a Home Office spokesman. The aim is to identify the “significant number” of Sri Lankans who make fraudulent asylum or immigration applications under a false identity after arriving in Britain on a visa, Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes said. It would also help to return failed asylum seekers who destroy their passports or other documents in a bid to slow down the deportation process, she added. Full Story