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A RECORD number of people claimed asylum in the UK in the last year – with a massive 32,000 currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels.
Home Office data released this morning shows that 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year ending June 2025 up 14 per cent on last year.
It is higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 which was set in 2002.
The number of people claiming asylum in this country has almost doubled since 2021.
And just under half of all those applying for protection in the UK are granted it at the initial decision stage – 48 per cent.
It is lower than in 2022 when 77 per cent of those applying were given the green light.
Half of all those came via irregular routes – such as on a small boat or in the back of a lorry – while 37 per cent claimed asylum after previously arriving on a valid visa.
In the year up to March, the UK was the fifth biggest recipient of asylum seekers in the UK after Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
The sky-high figures come as the number of migrants being housed in hotels has INCREASED since Labour came into power.
A total of 32,059 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government up 8 per cent on the same point 12 months ago.
Around 210 hotels are currently open across the UK despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to end their use.
The increase has been driven by a continued rise in small boat crossings – with more than 50,000 people coming across the Channel already under Labour.
In the year to June, the top five nationalities of people arriving in Dover were Afghan, Eritrean, Iranian, Syrian and Sudanese.
Almost everyone who comes on a small boat then goes on to claim asylum – with 64 per cent being granted refugee status at the initial stage.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This weak Labour government has allowed in record numbers of illegal immigrants over the channel, there are more immigrants in hotels than at the time of the election and fewer people are being removed.
“They are failing and need to urgently back the Conservative’s Bill that will ensure illegal immigrants and foreign criminals are all removed.
“This is a migration crisis – the Labour government has lost control of our borders.”
Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Home Secretary, responding to today’s immigration statistics, said: “We inherited a broken immigration and asylum system that the previous Government left in chaos.
“Since coming to office we have strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns, as today’s figures show.
Labour’s plan must show results… and fast
By JACK ELSOM, Political Editor
LABOUR Ministers can insist they are getting a grip on illegal migration until they are blue in the face – but the numbers speak for themselves.
We already knew that Channel crossings are up around 50 per cent since Sir Keir Starmer came into power last year on a promise to “smash the gangs”.
Today’s damning statistics will only add to public fury over the small boats crisis, with asylum claims at a record high and hotel use up 8 per cent.
Even the PM’s flagship boast to have ramped up deportations seems hollow when you drill into the numbers.
Yes, removals have increased, but the vast majority are migrants leaving this country voluntarily, often with a sum of taxpayer cash to send them on their way.
Returns of small boat migrants have actually DECREASED by seven per cent in the past year.
Inside Yvette Cooper’s Home Office there is fury that the Tories are seizing on their migration woes having left them with a right old mess.
The Conservatives are far from blameless, especially given the mind-bending figure that just 4 per cent of small boat arrivals have been returned since 2018.
But frenzied Labour attempts to point the finger at the last lot will not wash with voters demanding action.
Sir Keir and his ministers knew the problem they would be inheriting, and told Brits they had a plan to fix it.
That plan needs to start showing some results, and fast.
“The action we have taken in the last 12 months – increasing returns of failed asylum seekers by over 30 per cent, cutting asylum costs by 11 per cent, reducing the backlog by 18 per cent and our forthcoming plans to overhaul the failing asylum appeal system.
“These are crucial steps to restoring order, and putting an end to the chaotic use of asylum hotels that we inherited from the previous government.
“At the same time, we are bringing legal migration back under control, with a 48 per cent reduction in work visas this year – and further stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper expected to bring those overall numbers down further.
“As we roll out further reforms, including the new pilot with France, new counter terror powers to strengthen border security, and new asylum reforms later this year (including reforms to speed up the persistent delays in the appeals system).
“We will continue to take the serious steps required to restore order, control and fairness to the system and to continue building the foundations of a new and stronger approach.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer is facing the humiliation of Labour councils revolting against his government’s loathed migrant hotel policy.
Councils from across the political spectrum have indicated they could take legal action to close hotels in their areas.
Epping Forest council in Essex won a High Court injunction to close down The Bell Hotel which has been at the centre of protests in recent weeks.
Labour-controlled Wirral and Tamworth last night confirmed they are considering action against migrant hotels.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch issued a rallying cry to 33 Conservative councils while Reform and Lib Dem authorities are considering legal options.
