The sight of refugees hanging around Swindon town centre has led South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland to say there needs to be a rethink on how we handle such immigrants.

And his solution is to allow refugees and asylum seekers to work and pay tax while their claims are being processed.

Mr Buckland was interviewed by the editor of the Spectator, Fraser Nelson, for a long article in the political journal.

He told the Spectator: “I was in town on Friday, and I saw the asylum seekers milling about with nothing to do. I’m a big fan of something called “time banking”, where if I mow your lawn, you give me something back in exchange – a meal, a voucher or something."

Under the current asylum and immigration laws, those having their claims for asylum processed can’t even do small jobs in exchange for other services, let alone paid work.

Sir Robert finds that unhelpful: “It’s just so unimaginative and a waste of resource.

“It’s costing the health service more as well, because all these people are turning up with mental health problems and other ailments. It’s a vicious circle.’

The former Justice and Welsh Secretary’s solution is to give refugees’ more ability to work, including cutting the 12 month wait they must complete before doing even unpaid voluntary work: “We should take a leaf out of Denmark’s book and do more to give rights to work.

“Why not make it six months? We’ve got thousands of people costing us money, standing idle – instead of being able to contribute. Or worse, actually doing work of an irregular nature."

He added: “Let them contribute to the economy in a legitimate way. Let them pay tax.”

Sir Robert was a member of Liz Truss’ short-lived government, and Ms Truss was looking at increasing immigration to fuel her growth agenda - it was reported as being the cause of a row with the Home Secretary Suella Braverman before the latter’s short-lived exile from the job.

Sir Robert told the Spectator: “Let’s have a grown-up conversation. Until we have more automation, until we really harness more people who are economically inactive in the UK, we are going to need an element of migration to fill the job vacancies.”

UK vacancies currently stand at 1.2 million, near a record high. There are 5.3 million on out-of-work benefits, also nearly a record high.

And he doesn’t think, as Ms Braverman told parliament this week, that the immigration system is “broken”: “The system has its problems, but we’ve been in control of it for 12 years.

“We have been trying to refine it, improve it, speed it up, with mixed results. That’s the reality of it. But I don’t think it’s broken.”