Ministers ‘would take until 2036 to removed failed asylum seekers at current rate’

Labour accuses home secretary Suella Braverman of nothing but ‘empty promises’

The government would take until 2036 to remove failed asylum seekers at current rates, Labour has said as it reiterated its pledge to speed up returns.

Nearly 40,000 are waiting but just 3,000 are being removed each year, the party warned, as it accused the home secretary Suella Braverman of nothing but “empty promises”.

The charge comes at the start of a week of announcements on Rishi Sunak’s flagship pledge to ‘stop’ dangerous small boats crossings bringing thousands to the UK across the channel.

But the government have been accused of “cooking the books” as The Independent revealed thousands of asylum claims have been removed from the system following Rishi Sunak’s vow to clear a historic backlog by the end of this year.

In just three months more than 6,000 people have been wiped off the list without being fully assessed.

Reasons include that they have failed to attend appointments or interviews, meaning more claims are now being withdrawn than decided, sparking claims the numbers are being cut “by the back door”.

As part of a drive to get on the front foot over the issue, No 10 has announced that social media giants like Tik Tok will join forces with the National Crime Agency to crack down on adverts which lure people into deadly small boat crossings.

On the current rate of removals, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused Ms Braverman of having "totally lost any grip on the asylum system".

"All she ever does is ramp up the rhetoric and make more and more empty promises, while failing to deliver," she added.

The cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels is currently £6 million a day.

Ms Cooper added: "Labour would speed up decision-making to end the costly backlog, so those who have fled persecution get proper support, and those who have no right to be in this country are returned."  

Friday's Channel crossings of 262 people including children were the first since July 26 because of terrible weather conditions.

They bring the provisional number total detected by the Home Office to nearly 15,000 so far this year.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.

“The government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes by removing those with no right to be in the UK.”