Hundreds of Muslim asylum seekers are converting to Christianity to avoid being deported, say senior Church of England clerics.

Some of the arrivals, who are mainly from Iran, are said to be asking for baptisms to exploit a loophole in the immigration system.

Once converted, they argue that their new faith would expose them to persecution – including torture and possible execution – if they were to be returned home.

Pastor Gottfried Martens, right, baptises a group of Iranians converting to Christianity in Berlin in August 2015

Church leaders confirmed a spike in the number of Muslims who wanted to convert to a new religion and said baptism can ‘significantly enhance’ an asylum seeker’s prospects of being given sanctuary.

The Very Rev Dr Peter Wilcox, Dean of Liverpool, said his cathedral had baptised about 200 refugees in the past four years.

He likened the situation to one where parents baptise their children to boost their chance of getting a place at a church school. He told the Sunday Times: ‘Mixed motives are not unheard of.

‘God alone knows the person’s heart and we try to be consistent about that and not to set the bar at one height for middle-class aspiring parents seeking the best for the education of their children and the bar at another height for converts from Islam looking for asylum.

‘Refuse Jemima baptism and she goes to school somewhere else. Refuse Mohammed baptism and he gets deported.’

Dr Wilcox said: ‘Holding a baptism certificate significantly enhances the strength of their claim for asylum.

‘Once you are a baptised Christian it is really not conceivable that you would be deported to a Muslim country.’ Immigration judges would take into account a priest’s covering letter giving more information about the asylum seeker’s participation in Christian worship and service.

Some asylum seekers believe converting to Christianity will improve their chances of remaining in Europe

Prospective converts in Liverpool have to attend a five-week baptism course and are expected to attend services, said Dr Wilcox. He added: ‘I can’t think of a single example of somebody who already had British citizenship converting from Islam to Christianity.’

Around 300 Muslims have been baptised at Liverpool’s Elim Pentecostal church since 2010 – with about 100 using their new faith to help them stay in the UK.

The Rev Lionel Canter said: ‘I can understand people questioning how genuine it is because they can be integral to being able to stay in the country. It’s a valid question.’

Mike Coates, vicar of All Saints’ Church in Kensington, Liverpool, said about 50 Muslim asylum seekers had converted to Christianity over the past three years. He said officials from the UK Border Agency contacted him to check on individual asylum seekers and insisted that he told them, ‘We will not lie for you’.

Muslims have also been reportedly converting to Christianity at churches in Stockton-on-Tees in Co Durham, Wakefield in Yorkshire and Newcastle.

In Germany last month, more than 80 men and women from Iran and Afghanistan converted to Christianity at a mass baptism in Hamburg. There is no suggestion that any of the British clergy involved in the baptisms of Muslims acted improperly or failed to make honest judgments over the beliefs of those they converted.

The Home Office said converting to Christianity did not automatically result in a successful asylum claim.

A spokesman said: ‘A document such as a baptism certificate would not automatically lead to a conversion claim being accepted as genuine but is given appropriate weight when considering all the evidence.’