Asylum appeals from home country to slash hotel bills

MORE failed asylum seekers should be allowed to appeal from their own nations to get them out of taxpayer-funded hotels, a Foreign Office minister has said.

- By Michael Knowles Home Affairs Editor

Baroness Jenny Chapman, who is responsible for migration, said there was "no legal reason" not to allow more asylum appeals from abroad.

She also confirmed diplomats were talking to "a lot" of countries about securing new returns agreements.

It comes as Ministry of Justice figures show a five-fold increase in the number of asylum claims awaiting hearings. Some 41,987 appeals were caught up in the backlog at the end of last year, up from 7,173 at the start of 2023.

Asked about the prospect of setting up return hubs, Baroness Chapman said: "If their application has been declined, there's no legal reason [why not] in many cases - not all, because there will be some places that we wouldn't want to send people back to...Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran.

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