It is getting harder to win asylum in Britain based on sexual orientation, government data showed on Thursday, with only 22 percent of claims approved in 2017 down from 39 percent in 2015.

The downward trend was slightly steeper than for other types of asylum applications, the Home Office (interior ministry) said, although critics said officials expect too much and often disbelieve gay claimants who do not apply immediately.

"We have seen people whose claims have been refused in part because they didn't use enough emotional language," said Leila Zadeh, executive director of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, which supports LGBT+ asylum seekers.

"It's incredibly difficult for somebody to tell the Home Office about this aspect of identity that they have never ever spoken about and that they feel ashamed to talk about." Read more via Openly