London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Nov 28, 2025

PMQs: Fact-checking claims about asylum and migrants

PMQs: Fact-checking claims about asylum and migrants

Delays in processing asylum claims and the cost of providing hotel accommodation for asylum-seekers were some of the issues debated at Prime Minister's Questions.

Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of presiding over a "broken" asylum system, Rishi Sunak said Labour had "no plan" on how to deal with the thousands of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats.

We've had a look at some of the claims.

'Four per cent of people arriving in small boats last year had their asylum claim processed' - Keir Starmer


Keir Starmer asked the prime minister how many asylum claims from those who arrived in the UK on small boats last year had been processed.

Mr Sunak said: "not enough is the answer", but did not give a figure.

Mr Starmer went on to say that it was 4% of them, which is correct.

Speaking to the Home Affairs Committee last week, Home Office official Dan Hobbs said about small boat arrivals in 2021: "96% of those claims remain outstanding".

He added that of the 4% of claims which had been processed, around 85% were given asylum.

The latest backlog figures for the year to the end of June 2022, show 103,000 asylum applications awaiting a decision.


'We ended the free movement of people' - Rishi Sunak


Keir Starmer said to the prime minister: "His home secretary says the asylum system is broken - who broke it?"

Mr Sunak responded by talking about free movement.

"We gave the British people a referendum on Brexit, we delivered Brexit, we ended the free movement of people," he said.

But free movement and the asylum system are not the same thing.

Free movement is the European Union principle that all EU nationals are allowed to live and work in any EU country.

On 31 December 2020, this freedom ended for EU citizens coming to the UK (and for UK citizens going to the EU).

The asylum system is set of rules around how people fleeing persecution can try to get protection in the UK.


'Nearly 40,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel so far this year landing taxpayers with a hotel bill of £5.6m per day to accommodate them' - Scott Benton (Conservative)


We've heard the £5.6m figure before from Home Office official Abi Tierney, who appeared before a committee of MPs last week.

She said that the cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers was £5.6m a day, although that was the figure for all asylum seekers, not just for those who had arrived in small boats.

It's also not just for those who arrived this year and not all arrivals are being housed in hotels.

Ms Tierney said that on top of this figure, £1.2m per day is spent on hotel accommodation for people brought over from Afghanistan, bringing the bill to a total of £6.8m a day.

'We've increased the number of processing officials by 80%' - Rishi Sunak


The prime minister gave this figure for the increase in staff numbers when asked what the government was doing about speeding up the processing of asylum claims.

Ms Tierney told MPs last week that they had increased the number of asylum "decision makers" by 584 to 1,073, which is an increase of 119%, although neither she nor the prime minister gave a time period.

Reality Check asked the Home Office where the 80% figure came from and they confirmed that they had 597 staff in 2019-20, which had now increased to 1,073, which is indeed an 80% increase.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
×