A former shadow home secretary is set to attack the government for discriminating against refugees who play by the rules.

Ann Widdecombe was on Wednesday taking her campaign for justice on behalf of an asylum seeker in her constituency to the House of Commons, where she will raise his case in an adjournment debate.

The Maidstone MP, renowned for her tough stance on asylum, is angry at the treatment of her constituent Alban Gashi. He was arrested as an overstayer, despite having complied with the rules and not being informed of the progress of his case.

"I have been criticising the government for a long time because it doesn't remove people from this country," she told ePolitix.

Widdecombe is concerned that government crackdowns are hitting the people it should be helping and letting illegal asylum seekers go free.

"People come in with flimsy claims, they disappear into the black economy, they stay forever. The government has set a tough target for removals, about which it is always talking.

"What it is actually doing is not tracking down the people who are abusing the system, it's going to the people who are still in the system and removing them," she said.

Gashi arrived in the UK in 1999, and applied for asylum on the same day of his entry. Two years later his claim was refused by which time he was holding down a job in the Kent Magistrates Court.

He appealed, with the help of the local vicar, but no decision materialised. Twice, in the presence of the clergyman, Gashi phoned the Home Office to find out the progress of his appeal. "Don't worry" came the official reply.

"Then suddenly, they arrive on the doorstep with two policemen and an immigration officer and arrest him as an overstayer," Widdecombe told this website.

In stark contrast, Widdecombe has another asylum seeker in her constituency who entered the country illegally, who has committed a criminal offence and failed to report to the authorities. He was arrested and then released from detention.

"[The system] hits the genuine asylum seeker or if the case is being turned down the asylum seeker who is complying with our laws. Where, where is the question of priorities?" she said.

"I think it is a major justice issue. The asylum system is in chaos and now they're hitting all the people who are doing it properly."