Asylum Appeal system overhauled to tackle backlog

Yvette Cooper will prevent judges from hearing appeals from rejected asylum seekers as part of government plans to clear the claims backlog more quickly.

- Kiran Stacey

The home secretary will set up a system of "professional adjudicators" to hear cases brought by people who have had their asylum claims turned down as the government looks for ways to process tens of thousands of cases.

The proposals, which were first reported by the Sunday Times, have been worked on for months but are being accelerated after a legal ruling that will force the government to rehouse 138 asylum seekers from the Bell hotel in Epping within days.