Limited stay for some migrants 'could shut the hotels in 1 year'

ASYLUM hotels could be shut within a year if people from five countries are given limited leave to stay, ministers were told last night.

- BY DAVE BURKE

The Refugee Council said Keir Starmer's current timeline to close hotels by 2029 is "unsustainable".

In a report published today it urged the government to bring in a one-off scheme granting people from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Iran limited leave to stay - as long as they pass security checks.

This would pave the way to speed up closures massively, it says.

In June, there were 32,000 people being housed in this way while their claims were processed - down from over 56,000 under the Tories.