The corner of Whitechapel High Street, in the bustling heart of London‘s East End, is where this story of our times begins.

Here, sandwiched between Sports Direct and Betfred, is the office of Apanjon. The name, or rather the meaning, will be familiar to the large Bangladeshi population in E1. It is – roughly translated – Bengali for ‘one’s own people’.

For an organisation ‘campaigning for equality and justice for the LGBT community’ both in Bangladesh, where gay people face criminalisation, and also in Britain, it is particularly apt.

The group, whose motto is ‘love knows no gender‘, was established in 2017 and provides welfare services as well as organising regular social and cultural events.

Nothing remotely controversial – until this week. The Apanjon website has a ‘public gallery’ featuring a collage of colourful photos of mainly young men at Christmasparties, monthly gatherings, local restaurants and attending Pride events in matching T-shirts.

But behind the seemingly innocent images, a worrying question has now emerged: how many of these men are really gay – and how many just pretended to be gay to get asylum in Britain?

Quite possibly, dozens. The Home Office, we learned this week, is reviewing more than 100 potentially fraudulent applications linked to the group from those seeking sanctuary, under the umbrella of the European Convention on Human Rights, from homosexual persecution in their homeland.

The revelation followed the arrests of two suspected ringleaders in early morning raids by Immigration Enforcement officers wearing riot helmets and stab vests (with a battering ram at the ready).

The operation at a rundown block in Whitechapel, where two men later emerged in handcuffs from separate flats before being driven away in a 4×4, was reminiscent of the kind of tactics used to apprehend terrorists and organised crime figures.

‘It was madness,’ said a resident describing the moment around 12 officers stormed the graffiti-strewn block on Tuesday.

‘I heard them shouting, ‘Open the door now’. Kids were getting ready to go to school when the raids kicked off.’ Few could have guessed their purpose. Asylum claims raising red flags about Apanjon – identified by the Home Office as a ‘Bangladeshi LGBT welfare organisation based in Whitechapel’ – have been under investigation for several months.

‘Evidence packages’, costing thousands of pounds, it is alleged, included fake documents and letters of support along with staged photographs, many taken at the same gay bars and clubs.

Read More: Yes, some migrants are gay and deserve Britain’s protection

‘Queer migrant’ Green MSP allowed to stay in UK on new visa after ‘rape is a spectrum’ row

A controversial Green MSP who sparked fury after saying “rape is a spectrum” has been handed a new visa by the Home Office.

The Indian transgender activist, who stood for election in May without knowing he would be allowed to remain in the UK, claimed the new visa allows him to carry on living in Scotland for another three years.

Mr Manivannan was pocketing £77,711 as an MSP in Holyrood even though he was elected while only holding a temporary student visa.

He said: “I recently received my graduate visa as planned, after going through an extractive and expensive immigration system – one where applicants are made to pay thousands of pounds for the right to live and work in Scotland.

“My focus is where it always has been, on serving my constituents. This is my home and I’m not going anywhere.

“We have worked on a range of issues from ensuring fair work in arts and culture and establishing an artist minimum income, securing better and more flexible access to childcare, and standing steadfastly against AI hyperscale data centre applications in Edinburgh and beyond.”

However, the visa extension does not ensure Mr Manivannan will be able to see out his full term in the Scottish Parliament.

Read More: ‘Queer migrant’ Green MSP allowed to stay in UK on new visa after ‘rape is a spectrum’ row