https://sputnikglobe.com/20231129/uk-home-office-loses-17000-asylum-seekers-across-britain---starmer-1115286899.html
UK Home Office 'Loses' 17,000 Asylum Seekers Across Britain - Starmer
UK Home Office 'Loses' 17,000 Asylum Seekers Across Britain - Starmer
Sputnik International
The British government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under fire for “losing control of the borders” after admitting it had lost track of tens of thousands of asylum-seekers amid a backlog of applications.
2023-11-29T18:30+0000
2023-11-29T18:30+0000
2023-11-29T18:30+0000
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united kingdom (uk)
rwanda
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rishi sunak
keir starmer
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The revelation came amid a hearing of the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee concerning the government’s scheme to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda, which the country’s Supreme Court struck down earlier this month.At a meeting of the home affairs select committee the Conservative MP Tim Loughton asked senior civil servants about the government’s plans to clear 91,000 “legacy” asylum claims submitted before June 2022, especially 17,316 claims that had been withdrawn as of September.“Is this just fortuitous?” he asked.Asylum claims can be withdrawn if the refugee fails to respond to two successive case worker interview requests or questionnaires, officials told the panel.In 2021, the number refused or withdrawn was just 2,141, although according to UK media, the 17,000 lost applications wasn’t the worst on record: in 2004, 24,403 applications were refused or withdrawn.“Mr. Ridley is looking for the numbers and we will send them to you,” Rycroft replied.At Prime Minister’s questions later on Wednesday, Sunak faced tough criticism from the parliamentary opposition over the contents of the hearing.Sunak told MPs the “toughest action ever taken to reduce legal migration” were “yet to be felt” after the record-high numbers of 2022, when 750,000 people entered the country. Last week, Sunak’s spokesperson said the government was clamping down on dependents of foreign students arriving in the UK, among other efforts.Labour leader Keir Starmer blasted the Conservatives for the record-high numbers, accusing Sunak of having the “reverse Midas touch,” referring to the mythical Phrygian king whose touch could turn anything to gold.After Sunak claimed that if Starmer were prime minister, he would seek to make a “secret backroom deal” with the European Union, which the UK left in 2020, to admit another 100,000 migrants every year, Starmer pointed out that only Conservative PMs have occupied 10 Downing Street since 2010.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231118/uk-government-keeping-dossiers-on-critics---reports-1115050653.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231115/sunak-vows-to-start-transferring-migrants-to-rwanda-in-early-2024-despite-uk-court-ruling-1114990360.html
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home office lost asylum applications, uk prime ministers questions
home office lost asylum applications, uk prime ministers questions
UK Home Office 'Loses' 17,000 Asylum Seekers Across Britain - Starmer
The British government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under fire for “losing control of the borders” after admitting it had lost track of tens of thousands of asylum-seekers amid a backlog of applications.
The revelation came amid a hearing of the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee concerning the government’s scheme to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda, which the country’s
Supreme Court struck down earlier this month.
At a meeting of the home affairs select committee the Conservative MP Tim Loughton asked senior civil servants about the government’s plans to clear 91,000 “legacy” asylum claims submitted before June 2022, especially 17,316 claims that had been withdrawn as of September.
“Is this just fortuitous?” he asked.
"I don't think we know where all these people are," replied Simon Ridley, the interim second permanent secretary at the Home Office.
Asylum claims can be withdrawn if the refugee fails to respond to two successive case worker interview requests or questionnaires, officials told the panel.
18 November 2023, 22:51 GMT
In 2021, the number refused or withdrawn was just 2,141, although according to UK media, the 17,000 lost applications wasn’t the worst on record: in 2004, 24,403 applications were refused or withdrawn.
Amid Rycroft’s lack of specifics on the Rwanda deal or several other aspects of immigration policy the panel asked about, Conservative MP and committee member Lee Anderson fumed: “I find this absolutely staggering that the big boss hasn’t got a clue, not just on this question, but nearly every other question we’ve asked today. Why is that?”
“Mr. Ridley is looking for the numbers and we will send them to you,” Rycroft replied.
At Prime Minister’s questions later on Wednesday, Sunak faced tough criticism from the parliamentary opposition over the contents of the hearing.
Sunak told MPs the “toughest action ever taken to reduce legal migration” were “yet to be felt” after the record-high numbers of 2022, when 750,000 people entered the country. Last week, Sunak’s spokesperson said the government was clamping down on dependents of foreign students arriving in the UK, among other efforts.
"But let me be clear: the levels of migration are far too high and I am determined to bring them back down to sustainable levels,” Sunak said. "That's why we have asked the Migration Advisory Council to review certain elements of the system. We’re reviewing those findings and will bring forward next steps."
15 November 2023, 22:28 GMT
Labour leader Keir Starmer blasted the Conservatives for the record-high numbers, accusing Sunak of having the “reverse Midas touch,” referring to the mythical Phrygian king whose touch could turn anything to gold.
“In 2019, they all promised the country that they would control immigration, numbers will come down, the British people will be in control,” Starmer said. “How’s it going?”
After Sunak claimed that if Starmer were prime minister, he would seek to make a “secret backroom deal” with the European Union, which the UK left in 2020, to admit another 100,000 migrants every year, Starmer pointed out that only Conservative PMs have occupied 10 Downing Street since 2010.
“There is only one party that has lost control of the borders and they are sitting right there. This is a Government not just in turmoil, in open revolt,” he said.
