By Tom Russell
PM overhauls asylum appeal system in attempt to accelerate deportations
Sir Kier Starmer is facing mounting pressure over the “small boats crisis” as protests outside asylum hotels intensified over the bank holiday weekend.
In Bristol, mounted police were deployed to separate rival groups after scuffles broke out, with one woman arrested for assaulting an emergency worker. Liverpool witnessed 11 arrests during confrontations between UKIP supporters and counter-demonstrators, while in Horley, Surrey, around 200 anti-immigration protesters clashed with 50 Stand Up to Racism activists, leading to three arrests. Further demonstrations are expected, including one planned in Canary Wharf on Sunday.
According to the Times, a YouGov poll found that 71% of voters believe the Prime Minister is mishandling the issue of migrant hotels despite outlining measures to revise the appeals system to assist in the removal of people “with no right to be in the UK”.
The Home Secretary announced plans for a fast-track asylum appeals system, and an independent panel of professionally trained adjudicators, rather than judges, is set to be introduced in an effort to clear the mounting backlog of asylum cases.
Ms Cooper said, “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end.
“That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system. We are determined to substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels.
“Already since the election we have reduced the backlog of people waiting for initial decisions by 24% and increased failed asylum returns by 30%.
“But we cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer.”
So far this year, 28,076 people have made the crossing of the English Channel in small boats — a record figure and an increase of 46% compared with the same period last year.
The reliance on temporary accommodation has grown sharply, with hotels becoming a flashpoint of national tension; Home Office figures show that by the end of June, 32,059 asylum seekers were housed in hotels, an 8% rise from 29,585 the previous year.
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