Rishi Sunak’s claim to have cleared asylum backlog branded ‘misleading’

Published

6 months ago

January 2, 2024

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The government is claiming victory in clearing the backlog of asylum claims – but that has been described as “misleading” as thousands are still waiting for a final decision.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged in December 2022 that he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of asylum claims made before 28 June of that year, with the Home Office being given the target of the end of 2023.

On Monday, the department said the pledge had been “delivered”, having processed more than 112,000 asylum claims overall in 2023.

There were more than 92,000 asylum claims made before 28 June 2022 requiring a decision, but Labour has said the government’s claim that all of those cases have been cleared is “false”.

The Home Office said on Monday that all cases in the legacy backlog have been reviewed, but added that “4,500 complex cases have been highlighted that require additional checks or investigation for a final decision to be made”.

Such cases typically involve “asylum seekers presenting as children – where age verification is taking place; those with serious medical issues; or those with suspected past convictions, where checks may reveal criminality that would bar asylum”, the department added.

It is understood that the Home Office has processed about 25,200 newer asylum claims, on top of the 86,800 decisions in legacy cases, which means the provisional number of total decisions made overall in the year reaches 112,000.

As many decisions as possible were made in the legacy backlog, according to officials, and the outstanding cases are due to a refusal to compromise security.

They pointed to efforts to clear some of the newer cases as evidence of the department’s commitment to tackling the overall backlog.

The prime minister said in a statement that the department’s efforts are “saving the taxpayer millions of pounds in expensive hotel costs, reducing strain on public services and ensuring the most vulnerable receive the right support”.

However, the CEO of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said it is “misleading for the government to claim that the legacy backlog has been cleared as there are thousands still waiting for a decision”.

“After mismanaging the asylum system for so many years the government was right to clear the backlog but was wrong to do it in a way that has failed to see the face behind the case and instead has treated people simply as statistics rather than with the care and compassion they deserve,” he added.

Labour’s shadow immigration minister also accused the government of making “false” claims about clearing the asylum backlog.

Stephen Kinnock said: “The asylum backlog has rocketed to 165,000 under the Tories – eight times higher than when Labour left office – and no slicing or renaming the figures can disguise that fact.

“Meanwhile Rishi Sunak’s promise made a year ago to end asylum hotel use has been disastrously broken – with a 20% increase to 56,000, costing the British taxpayer more than £2bn a year.

“This is yet more evidence of an asylum system broken by the Conservatives.”

The government’s announcement comes after months of fears that the prime minister’s target would not be achieved.

In February last year, the Home Office said thousands of asylum seekers would be sent questionnaires which could be used to speed up a decision on their claims, and about 12,000 people from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Libya and Yemen, who had applied for asylum in the UK and were waiting for a decision, were understood to be eligible under the policy.

In June, the National Audit Office (NAO) said efforts to clear the backlog needed to significantly increase to clear the backlog and questioned whether the plans were sustainable.

The spending watchdog also estimated £3.6bn was spent on asylum support in 2022-23, which amounted to almost double the previous year.

The Home Office said more caseworkers had been tasked with processing applications, which was “tripling productivity to ensure more illegal migrants are returned to their country of origin, quicker”.

But the department’s top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, revealed in a letter to MPs that just 1,182 migrants who had crossed the Channel had been returned to their home country since 2020, out of a total of more than 111,800 who arrived in that time period.

The majority of those returned were from Albania, with whom the UK has a returns agreement.

In an appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee in December, the prime minister was unable to say when the remaining overall backlog of asylum claims would be cleared, which continued to rise and stood at 91,076 as of the end of November, not including legacy cases.

UK

Prince William posts picture of him as a boy playing football with King to mark Father’s Day

Published

15 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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Prince William posts picture of him as a boy playing football with King to mark Father's Day

Prince William has posted a picture of him and his father, King Charles, playing football to mark Father’s Day.

In the photograph, the young prince smiles as he and the future monarch stand in a garden.

The royal youngster is pictured wearing dungarees and a striped shirt, while Charles looks relaxed in a double-breasted suit jacket.

The picture of the two future kings was taken on 12 June, 1984 in the gardens of Kensington Palace.

Later that same year William would gain a younger brother, with the Duke of Sussex born in September.

As well as marking Father’s Day, the football-themed image is perhaps a nod to England’s opening match in the Euros, which takes place on Sunday night.

It comes a day after the pair were involved in the Trooping of the Colour festivities at Buckingham Palace on Saturday.

The Prince of Wales was joined by his wife, Princess Kate – her first public appearance since the announcement of her cancer diagnosis.

Also with them were their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the youngest of whom is no stranger to the spotlight at such events.

UK

England v Serbia: Gareth Southgate tells fans he ‘expects everybody to enjoy the football’ when asked about match security risk

Published

20 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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England v Serbia: Gareth Southgate tells fans he 'expects everybody to enjoy the football' when asked about match security risk

Gareth Southgate has said he “expects everybody to enjoy the football” when asked about the heightened security risk of England’s opening Euros match against Serbia.

The England manager was responding to a question at a pre-match news conference on Saturday about the decision to ramp up security measures for today’s game in Gelsenkirchen.

Asked for his message to supporters, he said: “I expect everybody to enjoy the football.

“I’ve been fortunate to be involved in a lot of tournaments, and travel to tournaments I’ve not been directly involved in.

“They’re great carnivals of football – an opportunity to see a different part of the world and meet people from other parts of the world, have a brilliant time, so I’m sure everybody is coming to do that.”

He added: “I hope the whole of Europe can come together for the brilliant game that we’re involved in and support their team.”

Officials have designated England’s opening fixture as a “high-risk” event, with fans served lower-alcohol beer in the stadium and banned from drinking in the stands.

More than 300,000 British fans are travelling to Germany for Euro 2024, making it their highest attendance since Euro 2016 in France.

Policing the first game has been made more challenging by UEFA asking for the barriers to be removed inside the stadium, with both sides being seated closer together, and two-thirds of tickets going to mixed areas.

Southgate ‘relaxed’ that this is likely his final Euros

Rob Harris

Sports correspondent

@RobHarris

Entering his fourth tournament as England manager, Gareth Southgate is looking to the future.

There is 20-year-old Jude Bellingham being appointed to the leadership group.

A squad with only half its players retained from the 2022 World Cup.

And the manager himself is looking at a time when the Three Lions dugout is filled by someone else.

“I hate to put pressure on all the coaches,” the 53-year-old said. “But it could be the last tournament for all of them.”
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German police Chief Inspector Christof Burghardt told Sky News previously: “I think it’s a very high-risk game because of the history, because of the hooligans both sides have.

“Serbia has many hooligans. The English guys, with alcohol, they are sometimes very aggressive. So it’s a great job to do this, to prepare, so that hopefully nothing will happen.”

Footballing deaths a ‘great shock’

At the joint news conference with captain Harry Kane on Saturday, Southgate was also asked about the deaths announced today of two footballing figures – former Arsenal and Everton star Kevin Campell and Millwall and Montenegro goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.

Southgate said “both pieces of news were received with shock and great sadness”, acknowledging that the England players who have played with Sarkic are “feeling that even more”.

He recalled playing with Campbell, who died aged 54, at Arsenal, describing him as a “hugely popular man”.

“Kevin was the same age as me… his son has been in our junior pathway as well. Our thoughts are very much with his family at this time,” he said.

Both men said they are expecting Sunday’s game to be a challenge.

Kane told reporters: “We’re expecting a really tough game.”

Southgate added: “There are a lot of good teams in this tournament and we have to be exceptional to progress, firstly through the group, and then to have the opportunity to go further.”

UK

Gareth Southgate ‘relaxed’ that this is likely his final Euros

Published

20 hours ago

June 16, 2024

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Gareth Southgate 'relaxed' that this is likely his final Euros

Entering his fourth tournament as England manager, Gareth Southgate is looking to the future.

There is 20-year-old Jude Bellingham being appointed to the leadership group.

A squad with only half its players retained from the 2022 World Cup.

And the manager himself is looking at a time when the Three Lions dugout is filled by someone else.

“I hate to put pressure on all the coaches,” the 53 year old said. “But it could be the last tournament for all of them.

“So this is the world we’re in. I’m probably more relaxed about it because I’ve been to three. I know exactly what it involves, I know the events you have to deal with.”

Events that begin on Sunday night in Gelsenkirchen with their Euro 2024 group opener against Serbia.

It is three years since they went all the way in the competition – reaching the final at Wembley only to lose in the shootout to Italy.

Since then there has been Qatar, where England couldn’t make it to the last-four as they did at the 2018 World Cup – losing the quarter-final to France.

It could be France posing the greatest threat again, although hosts Germany were formidable in the 5-1 humbling of Scotland in the Euros curtain-raiser on Friday night.

What chance is there of a first trophy for England’s men since 1966?

“We’ve earned the right to be, I guess, classed as one of the favourites,” captain Harry Kane said.

“Ultimately, we’re here to win it. And there will be nothing better for us and the nation itself if we do that.”

It would be a first career trophy for Kane whose move to Germany in the last year, to play for Bayern Munich, has unexpectedly not produced silverware for the former Tottenham striker.

“I think winning a major tournament with England would be one of the pinnacles of anyone’s career so that is the aim,” he said.

“For me personally, the trophies haven’t quite happened yet but it just makes me more determined and hungry to go out there and do that.”

And no player scored more goals in Europe last season than Kane – netting 44 times in all competitions.There was an impressive debut season with an England teammate – Bellingham scoring 23 goals for Real Madrid when not even a centre forward and only just out of his teens.

Now the prolific duo are linking up again for their country.

Kane said: “I think we complement each other really well. Whether one of us is dropping deep, the other one running in behind and vice versa.

“So an amazing player to play with. He likes to get in the box, he likes to affect games and score goals, which is always important for an attacking midfielder.

“So I think the more we train with each other, the more we play with each other, hopefully that relationship can get even stronger. But it’s so strong already.”

Southgate has also brought Bellingham into the leadership group with Kane, midfielder Declan Rice and defender Kyle Walker.

“There’s a different dynamic to this group,” Southgate said. “There’s a lot of younger players, and I want to make sure that the voices of the younger players, that I’m really in touch with that as well.

“So I don’t want to leave here with any stone unturned. I don’t want to have missed anything.

“And, it’s always important to know what the players are thinking. They have good views. They have good experiences.

“And also, there will be some decisions that I will take without talking to any of them.”