According to a BBC News Northern Ireland report published on April 17, an official is alleged to have contacted an asylum seeker waiting for their claim to be processed by the British Home Office (Interior Ministry).

The official allegedly asked the asylum seeker "for 2,000 GBP (2,335 euros) in return for approving his refugee application," reported the BBC.

The man is also understood to have accessed sensitive records kept at the Home Office in order to carry out the alleged scam.

The Home Office told the BBC the officer had been "suspended" and added that while it expected the "highest standards" from its staff, it would be "inappropriate" to comment further due to the ongoing police investigation into the case.

Asylum seeker told he would lose his case

BBC News spoke to the asylum seeker, who was approached by the Home Office official. Himself a former journalist, the asylum seeker told the BBC that he had been contacted in early March by a person who said they were a "decision maker" on asylum cases in the north of England.

The officer allegedly went on to claim to the asylum seeker that "95 percent of people like you" will go on to have their asylum claims refused. However, the officer then reportedly suggested that if the asylum seeker were to make a direct payment, then success could be guaranteed.

The asylum seeker, whom the BBC has named Renas* to protect his identity, said the officer said "if I could help him, he could help me and he asked for some money. He asked for 2,000 pounds. He basically offered me a positive decision."

'A total scam'?

At first, Renas told the BBC he thought the whole thing was "a total scam." But after the officer revealed more and more details, it became clear, that the man on the phone to him did indeed work for the Home Office, Renas said.

"He had all my information. He gave me very specific details from my application," Renas told the BBC.

Renas decided to record a subsequent video call he had with the decision maker at the Home Office, which he then passed on to police and also showed the BBC. According to the BBC, the footage "appears to show an individual using a laptop which has official Home Office software containing case files."

Renas said that he thought the decision maker was targeting "the most vulnerable people in society," and said he is worried that there may be others, like him, who were also targeted and subjected to a similar process.

He said he felt it was "my responsibility to inform them."

'I was persecuted in my home country by the authorities'

"I was already afraid of the Home Office and other institutions here," Renas explained to the BBC, adding "I was persecuted in my home country by the authorities." Nevertheless, he raised his concerns with his solicitor, who then alerted the authorities.

Lancashire police confirmed to the BBC that they had indeed arrested "a man on suspicion of misconduct in public office, suspicion of money laundering, bribery, and computer misuse offenses."

The man is reported to be "in his 30s" and was taken into custody in the "Ramsgreave area of Blackburn" in the north of England.

Police added that the "investigation remains in its early stages and enquiries are ongoing."

Renas' lawyer, Sinead Marmion, who is an immigration lawyer at Phoenix Law in Belfast, praised her client for raising the issue, reported the local newspaper Shropshire Star. Marmion called the allegations "an exceptionally unusual situation."

'Speaking out ... took a lot of guts'

Marmion, reported the Daily Mail, also said that she thought her client was very brave for speaking out. "For him to be able to raise an issue like this took a lot of guts," she explained.

The Labour Party's Stephen Kinnock, who serves as the Shadow Immigration Minister, commented, reported the Daily Mail, that these are "deeply concerning allegations and it is right that the police are looking into this matter."

Kinnock added that the Conservatives, who are currently in government, "have lost control of our asylum system across the board and should be working round the clock to restore integrity and public trust."

Although there is no information about the arrested officer, and how long they might have been working at the Home Office, in the last year, the government has been making an effort to increase the numbers of decision makers working at the Home Office in order to tackle the huge backlog of asylum applications.

According to the Daily Mail, more than half of Home Office staff are working remotely, and only 47 percent of its desks in Whitehall in London are actually occupied.

The Daily Mail also reported that government officials had "admitted" this week that about 40,000 migrants were living in the UK but "pending relocation" after having their asylum claims "ruled inadmissible."

Rwanda bill still not passed

Meanwhile, on Monday (April 15), the head of the Home Office, Sir Matthew Rycroft, told the Public Accounts Committee that he believed the numbers of migrants arriving in Britain without papers needed to be reduced by about 10,000 for the so-called Rwanda plan to prove "value for money."

Sir Matthew added that not only would the costs of the Rwanda scheme, aiming to fly asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda to be processed, reach 290 million pounds (around 338 million euros) by next year, but if and when the law is passed -- currently expected to be early next week -- the UK government was due to make another payment of 50 million GBP (around 58 million euros) to the government in Kigali.

The bill is still making its way through parliament in a process known as 'political ping pong' between the two houses, The House of Commons and The House of Lords.

Although normally, the elected lower house can overrule amendments made by The House of Lords, the Lords can also refuse to pass a bill entirely if none of their amendments and recommendations are taken on board by the lower house. This is unusual but if enacted could render the bill unpassable.

Government spokespeople have assured journalists though that they expect the bill to be passed by Monday. So far, The House of Commons has refused to concede to the Lords' amendments.

*Not his real name, a pseudonym used by the BBC to protect his identity