'We're leading a horrible life' The reality of being stuck in the UK asylum system

The government has pledged to clear the backlog of 85,839 asylum claims to make the system function better and cost less.

- Diane Taylor

It recently emerged in published freedom of information data that at least 20 cases have been in the system for more than a decade, with the oldest waiting nearly 17 years. A further 19 cases are between 10 and 16 years old.

The Guardian tracked down three people who have been stuck in the system for years and asked them about the reality of a life in perpetual limbo.

Virginia Wairimu The 51-year-old, who lives in Birmingham, fled Kenya in 2019 after being attacked because she is a lesbian. Wairimu said she was brought up in a staunchly Christian family and was pressured into marrying a man, who was violent and sexually abusive towards her. "I was successful in my career and became a travel consultant running my own safari company. "I fled my marriage taking my young daughter with me and adopted another child. I met a woman in 2015 and we fell in love," she said.

She and her partner survived by concealing their relationship, but eventually they were outed. Wairimu received threats on her phone, such as "People like you don't deserve to live" and "We need to eliminate you".

After she was assaulted to "cure" her of being a lesbian she knew she had to flee.