Taxpayers forking out £6.6bn to help asylum seekers

IT IS now absolutely clear that illegal migration will not be stopped this decade, so the very least that must be done is to stop the bonkers spending around it. Tennis coaches, trips to London Zoo and even friendship have all been paid for by the British public to help illegal migrants settle in after they have crossed the Channel in small boats.

- Sam Lister

Charities claim the spending saves taxpayers’ cash in the long run by helping people to integrate more quickly and point out that everyone needs help sometimes.

But it’s hard not to conclude that a cottage industry has built up around the crossings which means many organisations now have a very profitable, vested interest in arrivals.

The Express has laid out contracts for asylum seekers and refugees costing the taxpayer £6.6billion.

They are not limited to small boat crossings and include some of the important work being done to support those who have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. But that also highlights the reason so many Britons have lost faith in the system.

Across the country, kindhearted people opened their homes to Ukrainians who fled as we watched the war unfold, not just on our TV screens, but in real time on our phones through social media.

Those who came to the UK were overwhelmingly women and children and obviously refugees seeking sanctuary.