Clearing asylum backlog ‘created another crisis’ as refugees left homeless, charities say

Published

1 year ago

December 21, 2023

admin

Hassan came to the UK on a boat across the English Channel. Now he is sleeping rough on a Liverpool housing estate.

“Where should I go? What should I do?” he asks me, as he clears out his rain-soaked tent, which he’s pitched under some trees near to a row of semi-detached houses.

A sleeping bag he’s had since he left Calais, the last stop until Britain for more than 30,000 migrants this year, is ringing wet.

“This country is no good for asylum,” he says trying to pack his things into plastic bags.

“When you have a problem, you wait a long time for nothing.”

Hassan fled Iraq last year and travelled through Europe to reach Britain.

But his hopes of a new life have long faded.

“I have no money. No anything,” he says.

His asylum application was rejected on a technicality, but he is able to reapply. With no phone and no address however, it seems impossible.

A local resident spots us filming and walks quickly towards us, and we witness first hand why immigration is set to become a key issue in the next general election.

“This isn’t happening,” the resident says pointing at the tent angrily.

“We don’t want this around here. You’ve got all the neighbours worried. Imagine this is your house and your kids are playing in the garden, and you’ve got him camping here.

“You better get it moved tonight,” he shouts.

His anger is understandable. Hassan doesn’t want to be here.

But as the government has openly admitted, the asylum system in Britain is broken. This depressing scene on a housing estate brings that into clear focus.

We’ve come to Liverpool because the council here is pleading for the government to step in and help.

Liverpool City Council says it is dealing with an “unprecedented homelessness problem” and says a big part of that is a sudden influx of asylum seekers.

They blame the government’s move to accelerate the processing of asylum claims to clear the backlog by the end of the year.

When people are given refugee status, they are no longer eligible for asylum seeker accommodation – but there is nowhere to go.

Around £6m a year has been spent housing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels while claims are processed.

And earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government had reduced the backlog from 92,000 to 20,000.

Now cities like Liverpool say that has put them under “enormous pressure” as requests for housing are on the rise at a time when housing stock is already at a premium.

The city council told Sky News that it currently spends around £11m per year on asylum seekers and refugees in the region.

Nationally, there are 1.2 million people waiting for social housing, according to the charity Shelter.

Ewan Roberts, from Asylum Link, an organisation set up to offer help and advice to asylum seekers, says clearing the backlog has had negative knock-on effects.

“People are coming through the system so quickly now with leave to remain. They’re recognised as refugees, but there’s no accommodation for them.

“The government has pushed the burden on to somebody else.

“Whether that’s the voluntary sector or local authorities or other statutory homelessness services.

“They might have solved one problem, but they’ve created another.”

Alfadal, 31, has lived in the UK for four years. His 21-year-old wife Selma has recently been allowed to join him here under a family reunion visa.

But they are homeless because he claims the council say they are not a priority.

“I went to the train station. I sleep there,” he said.

“I don’t have any place to take my wife. I’m afraid for her.”

Government and Labour wrestle with asylum

Immigration is shaping up to be one of the key issues ahead of the general election and the government’s handling of the issue will be seen as critical.

Labour is facing the dilemma of being seen as tough enough by former red wall seats but also compassionate by the other wing of its supporters.

So far, Sir Keir Starmer has committed to lowering migration but has not given any specific target.

It has been a turbulent few weeks for the Conservative Party. The Supreme Court ruling that plans to send migrants to Rwanda were illegal was a major setback.

But in response, the prime minister published emergency legislation that would declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and push through their controversial deportation policy.

A government spokesperson said: “We have always met our legal obligations by providing support and accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

“As the legacy backlog reduces, we continue to work with local authorities to manage the impact of asylum decisions and support is available on moving on from asylum support accommodation through Migrant Help and their partners.”

“Through our Rough Sleeping Strategy, we will continue to work not just to reduce rough sleeping but to end it completely. Some £2bn have been provided to councils to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.”

A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: “Liverpool, like many local authorities, has been placed under immense pressure by the government’s decision to shift the burden from central to local government without proper planning and consultation.

“As a result we have written to the government to ask for additional help and support as well as co-operation to phase the decisions to enable us to find sustainable solutions.

“We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and have increased capacity in our frontline services to address these issues.

“Our current spend on asylum seekers and refugees is in the region of £11m per year.”

UK

Liverpool fan says his baby was flung 15ft in his pram and his partner run over during trophy parade

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

admin

Liverpool fan says his baby was flung 15ft in his pram and his partner run over during trophy parade

A father has told Sky News how his partner was driven over, and his baby son was flung 15ft in his pram, after they were hit by a vehicle during the Liverpool parade collision.

Daniel Everson, 36, had been with Sheree Aldridge and their five-month-old baby, Teddy, at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.

“The best day of my life turned into worst”, said Daniel, a lifelong fan of ‘The Reds’.

Daniel described the moment the car came towards him and his family.

“I tried to hold on to the front of the car and try and stop it, push it, do whatever I could [to stop it] from hitting my partner and my baby.

“Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.

“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.

“As soon as that happened, I just started screaming for my partner, and I found her and I asked where Teddy was, and she didn’t know… and I found him and he was okay, thank God.

“He was in the road, in his pram, on his back, and I grabbed him. I chucked the pushchair to the side and I ran up to some paramedics with him.”

Daniel, from Telford, said he felt like he was in “hell” as he rushed back to find Sheree.

“I had to carry her up the road with four police officers holding her while she was screaming and crying. At that point, I didn’t know what was wrong with her, but I could see the injuries to her leg,” he explained.

Sheree, 36, is recovering at Aintree University Hospital after suffering muscle tissue damage. Daniel has been allowed to return home with Teddy after he was assessed at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

“I feel a lot of emotions right now. Upset, angry, traumatised. A lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.

“To me, it just wasn’t handled properly – the situation with the car getting that far into the crowd, in my opinion, he should not have got anywhere near us.”

Merseyside Police have now been given more time to question a 53-year-old arrested after a car struck a crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.

The suspect, who police have described as a white British man from the local area, is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving, and drug driving.

Police have said the extra time they have been given to question the suspect runs into Thursday.

UK

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan charged with rape in the UK

Published

7 hours ago

May 28, 2025

admin

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan charged with rape in the UK

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate have been charged with rape and other offences in the UK.

Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, relating to three women.

His brother Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges relating to one woman – including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.

The charges were authorised in January 2024, but full details have only been released now.

Bedfordshire Police issued an international arrest warrant for the brothers over allegations, which they “unequivocally deny”, said to have occurred between 2012 and 2015.

The Tate brothers are facing separate allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.

They are also accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in a different case, which has been sent back to prosecutors.

They are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania.

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have authorised charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate for offences including rape, human trafficking, controlling prostitution and actual bodily harm against three women.

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.

“A European Arrest Warrant was issued in England in 2024, and as a result the Romanian courts ordered the extradition to the UK of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”

The spokesperson added: “However, the domestic criminal matters in Romania must be settled first.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active, and the defendants have the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Representatives for Andrew Tate have been contacted by Sky News for comment.

Lawyer Matt Jury, of McCue Jury & Partners, representing several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said: “We welcome the clarity from the Crown Prosecution Service that our authorities are working to ensure the Tates face justice here in the UK – they cannot be allowed to escape extradition.

“At the same time, we ask once more that CPS admit its mistake in failing to prosecute Tate when he lived in the UK and finally charge him for the rape and assault of the other three women, our clients, who originally filed criminal complaints against him as long ago as 2014 but were failed by the system.

“They deserve justice, too.”

The allegations were subject to a police investigation, which was closed in 2019.

UK

Police given more time to question Liverpool parade collision suspect

Published

8 hours ago

May 28, 2025

admin

Police given more time to question Liverpool parade collision suspect

Merseyside Police has been given more time to question a 53-year-old man arrested over the Liverpool parade collision.

The suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on Monday.

Police have said the extra time they have been given to question the suspect runs into Thursday.

The force believes the vehicle which struck pedestrians on Water Street had followed an ambulance crew that was attending to someone suffering a heart attack, after a road block was temporarily lifted.

Earlier, new footage emerged showing a car being driven into the crowd as panicked fans watched in horror and tried to avoid being hit.

The CCTV footage showed supporters attempting to move out of the way as the vehicle ploughed into supporters.

Cries could be heard from the crowd – before police and members of the public chased after the car.

In an update on Wednesday, Merseyside Police said it was in contact with 79 people who were injured in the crash – an increase on the 65 people who were confirmed injured in the force’s previous update.

Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition following the collision, the force added.

Detective Superintendent Rachel Wilson said: “I’m pleased to say that the number of people in hospital is reducing as they continue to recover from the awful incident.

“We continue to support those still receiving treatment and as part of our ongoing enquiries we are identifying more people who were injured.

“I want to reassure the public of Merseyside that detectives are making significant progress as we seek to establish the full circumstances that led to what happened.”

DS Wilson said that “extensive CCTV enquiries” were being carried out across Liverpool to “establish the movements of the car, a Ford Galaxy, before the incident took place”.

She added: “We have already had an incredible response from many of those who were there on the day, and I thank them for their co-operation with our investigation.

“I would encourage anyone who has not yet contacted police who may have information on this incident to do so.

“An extensive investigation into the precise circumstances of the incident is ongoing, and we continue to ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident and refrain from sharing distressing content online.”

It comes after Water Street was reopened to vehicles and pedestrians on Wednesday after the police cordon was lifted.

Street cleaning teams worked overnight to clear the road, which had been littered with bottles, cans and football scarves and flags.

One remaining Liverpool flag was removed from the top of a set of traffic lights by a worker wearing hi-vis.

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈

On Tuesday night, Liverpool manager Arne Slot decided not to attend the League Managers Association’s annual awards ceremony “in solidarity with those affected by the incident on Monday”.

Meanwhile, speaking at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said the collision on Water Street “showed the two faces of life”.

He said: “The most beautiful face for a long, long time: the parade was incredible, the mood was incredible and from one second to another everything changed and we learned again there are more serious things in the world than football.

“Thoughts and prayers go to the injured people and their families as well.

“It should have been one of the greatest days in the history of the city, after a long, long time, because we didn’t have the opportunity to do it last time. I don’t know how and why it happened but we know what happened and that’s very bad.”