• Uncategorized

    Labour embarrassment as asylum backlog predicted to take 44,000 years to clear

    admin Posted on

    The backlog calculation excludes a further 87,000 appeals lodged by April to overturn failed claims – a 70 % rise on the previous year.

    Migrants Attempt Channel Crossing In Small Boats

    A group of migrants tries to cross the English Channel in a flimsy dinghy (Image: Getty)

    It will take 44,000 years to clear the asylum court backlog built up since Labour took power, shocking figures reveal. A new analysis shows that processing all 38,866 asylum cases lodged since the government entered office would equate to 44,000 years if handled one after another. The extraordinary total highlights the scale of delays plaguing the system.

    Official data indicates that lawyers and migrants are launching repeated appeals, with the average wait for a judgment stretching to 14 months over the past two years. The backlog calculation excludes a further 87,000 appeals lodged by April to overturn failed claims — a 70 % rise on the previous year. Operating the immigration and asylum appeals service already costs taxpayers £80 million annually.

    Migrants struggle to board crossing boat at Wimereux

    London’s Taylor House court is facing a 10,888-year backlog, while Manchester Piccadilly stands at 7,412 years, marking them among the least efficient venues in the country.

    The revelations come as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to replace asylum judges with an independent appeals body in a bid to overhaul the system. However, critics say mounting delays continue to tie up courts and drain public resources.

    Tory MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke told The Sun: “This is a totally inefficient system. Until we get out of the European Convention on Human Rights we won’t be able to change it. It’s bad enough Labour’s taking us back to the 70s — but the ice age is another level.

    “It’s a bad use of taxpayers’ cash. The reason we’ve so many activist lawyers is they know backlogs give years of work.”

    A Government spokeswoman said: “We do not recognise this interpretation of the figures. This government has made significant progress tackling the asylum backlog, slashing the number of people waiting for an initial decision by 72 %, from its peak of 175,000 under the last government.”

    She added: “We must go further and faster. That’s why the Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping immigration reforms in modern times, designed to speed up the appeals process and ensure those with no right to be here cannot delay their removal.”

    The figures expose significant challenges for Labour in managing the asylum system, despite manifesto pledges to reduce backlogs. Repeated legal challenges are prolonging individual cases, adding to the financial burden on taxpayers and fuelling criticism of the government’s delivery on immigration controls.

    With appeals surging and processing times extended, ministers face pressure to deliver meaningful reform. The vast accumulated delays since Labour entered government have prompted fresh questions about the effectiveness of current measures and the system’s capacity to cope.

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    admin
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like

    Uncategorized

    “LOCK THEM IN” — Nigel Farage Sparks Political Firestorm After Pledging Migrant Detention Centres Across BritainNigel Farage declares illegal migrants in army bases would be BANNED from towns under Reform government. Nigel Farage has declared that a Reform government would transform military barracks currently accommodating asylum seekers into detention facilities on its very first day in office. The party leader outlined plans requiring emergency legislation designed to circumvent existing human rights protections, which would stop migrants who entered Britain illegally from moving freely into surrounding communities. Speaking to reporters while visiting Crowborough in East Sussex, Mr Farage pointed to the local converted barracks now housing close to 400 asylum seekers. No photo description available. He said: “A secure army camp down the road wouldn’t worry the residents of this little town of Crowborough. “It is the fact they’re all free to roam, and the numbers are going, 350 yesterday, 30 more today. Goodness knows where this is going.” Reform has pledged to introduce laws rendering all asylum applications from illegal arrivals inadmissible, clearing the path for forced removals or voluntary departures. The party’s proposals include creating a “UK deportation command”, tasked with overseeing the expulsion of up to 600,000 migrants across a five-year period. To achieve this, the party would withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and sidestep the 1951 Refugee Convention. The plan envisions five chartered deportation flights operating daily to return asylum seekers to their countries of origin. Additionally, the party has called for a tenfold expansion of immigration removal centre capacity, reaching 24,000 places within 18 months. Crowborough protest Mr Farage acknowledged that exiting the ECHR would trigger “massive battles” with the courts, with Danny Kruger currently working on preparations for how to implement these measures swiftly. The party leader framed the policy as a response to what he described as both a national security and social crisis. He characterised the situation as requiring an emergency declaration, citing concerns about terrorism alongside what he called a “pattern of serious sexual offences”. Mr Farage said: “There’s not a week that goes by now when we don’t see horrendous sexual assaults that are carried out. “I’m sorry, but there are cultural differences between young men that come from certain parts of the world in terms of their attitudes towards what’s acceptable.” He argued that declaring an emergency would provide a temporary mechanism to bypass the Human Rights Act, which he said would take longer to address through conventional means. The Reform leader proposed offering migrants £1,000 to return home and rebuild their lives, dismissing the Home Secretary’s trial scheme providing incentive payments of up to £10,000 per person. “Forty grand for a family? Crikey, I’ll make the crossing for that. No, that’s ludicrous. I think up to £1,000, something like that, which back in most of these countries would be enough to start again.” Currently, migrants without the right to remain can apply for up to £3,000 in voluntary departure support under certain circumstances. Crowborough barracks Mr Farage pointed to claims from the US administration that most deportees during Donald Trump’s second term left voluntarily, though researchers have disputed this assertion. He conceded that some migrants would inevitably vanish into the black economy, acknowledging this was already occurring from existing sites. “There are practical difficulties, but we have to show intent. We have to show will. And there are ways of doing this,” Mr Farage stated when pressed on the challenges. Approximately 170,000 asylum seekers are currently awaiting initial decisions on their claims or appealing rejections, with many remaining in hotels or shared accommodation. Labour has committed to shutting all asylum hotels and relocating migrants to larger facilities, including barracks and houses of multiple occupation distributed evenly across the country. A Labour source branded Reform’s deportation proposals as “fantasy” policy. They said: “Even the US are paying people thousands of dollars to leave the country. Based on the current mechanism in the UK of up to £3,000, the numbers are not there. “It will end up costing the taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds to house them.”

    admin