Second day of anti-migrant protests as Labour vows to tackle huge appeals backlog

A second day of demonstrations outside asylum hotels saw protesters clash with police yesterday, as the government set out plans to accelerate the appeals process for refugees whose claims are rejected.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Under the “Abolish Asylum System” banner, demonstrators gathered in Solihull, Dudley, Epping, Stevenage, London, Manchester and Norwich.

Yvette Cooper said a new fast-track appeals system would see decisions made more quickly, curtailing the spiralling backlog in the courts and helping Labour meet its promise to end the use of asylum hotels.

While the backlog of initial decisions has been cut under Labour, there are about 51,000 asylum appeals waiting to be heard, more than a year on average to reach a decision.

Decisions will be prioritised for foreign national offenders and those in asylum accommodation under the plans, with professionally trained adjudicators replacing judges to remove cases from the backed-up justice system.

The home secretary said yesterday: “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end. That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system.”