Fifty Thousand Applications Granted by Sunak as PM Boasts He’s Cleared the Backlog
Jack Walters, GB News, January 2, 2024
Rishi Sunak has boasted he has cleared the backlog of asylum claims but the Prime Minister’s victory has been branded “misleading”.
Sunak announced his promise to process more than 92,000 claims had been exceeded, with 112,000 cases cleared last year.
The total included 77,000 final decisions, with 51,469 asylum claims granted.
The record-breaking figure is the highest number since records began in 1984 and smashes the previous high of 33,460 in 2002.
Sunak said: “By clearing the legacy asylum backlog, deciding more than 112,000 cases, we 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.
“But we cannot be complacent, which is why I am focused on delivering on my commitment to stop the boats and get flights off the ground to Rwanda.”
The Prime Minister added: “I am determined to end the burden of illegal migration on the British people.
“That is why we have taken action to stop the boats, return hotels to their local communities, and deter those wanting to come here illegally from doing so.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly appeared on GB News this morning to discuss the backlog.
Cleverly, sparked fury from ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage over his claims about the Channel crossing crisis, said: “We’ve processed 112,000 applications, both legacy and current. We’ve got a much slicker process.”
However, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary are facing a furious backlash over the claim.
Farage said: “In an effort to rush through the asylum backlog, this morning Rishi Sunak boasts he has granted 50,000 new applications. The Conservatives have failed us all.”
Robert Jenrick, who resigned as Sunak’s Immigration Minister after claiming the Prime Minister’s commitment to end Channel crossings did not go far enough, argued: “The clearance of the legacy asylum backlog is a promise kept.
“But ultimately this is just managing the symptoms of the problem, not solving it.
“The only thing that matters is stopping illegal arrivals. The Government must do more.”
Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock labelled the Government’s claim as “false”.
He claimed: “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 per cent increase to 56,000, costing the British taxpayer more than £2billion a year.
“This is yet more evidence of an asylum system broken by the Conservatives.”
