Asylum hotel numbers up 8% over past year

THE number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has risen by 8% under Labour on the same point last year, according to newly published data.

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The figures come just days after a court ruled that more than 100 asylum seekers currently staying at a hotel in Essex should be removed from the accommodation after a council brought legal case.

The High Court judgement has led to ministers bracing for further legal challenges from councils across the country and pressure on the Government as to where else they can house asylum seekers.

The latest Home Office data, published yesterday as part of the usual quarterly immigration statistics, cover Labour's first year in office.