Key Keir Starmer blunder is hurting Britain’s bid to stop the boats | Politics | News
Ms Lam said: โLabour talk tough on smashing the gangs and stopping the boats, but the reality is returns are far too low and Starmerโs Government is weakening the infrastructure needed.
โSlashing investment at Manston migrant processing centre from ยฃ2.7billion to under ยฃ1billion and delaying upgrades until 2029 leaves Britain without the detention and deportation capacity we desperately need. Without proper facilities, migrants canโt be detained and removed. Thatโs why returns are so abysmal on Labourโs watch.
โInstead of fixing the system, they are hollowing it out, leaving taxpayers footing the bill for hotels and communities paying the price.
โUnless Labour reverse course and invest in real deportation capacity, Britain will remain powerless to control its borders.โ
Some 111,084 people applied for protection in the year to June, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
This is up 14% from 97,107 in the year to June 2024 and nearly double the number in 2021.
The most common nationalities among asylum applicants in the year to June 2025 were Pakistani (10.1% of the total), Afghan (7.5%), Iranian (7.0%) and Eritrean (6.7%).
Shocking analysis revealed 90% of Pakistanis claimed asylum after travelling to the UK on a valid visa, while 87% of Bangladeshi applicants travelled to the UK legally.
A further 71% of Indian asylum applicants used a visa to travel to the UK, highlighting widespread fears over the abuse of the UKโs generosity.
By contrast, 84% of Afghans who claimed asylum arrived by a small boat. Some 89% of Eritrean applicants arrived the same way.
The asylum crisis cost taxpayers ยฃ4.76billion a year in 2024-25, down from a record ยฃ5.38billion in 2023-24.
But the number of Channel migrants being deported under Labour is falling.
Some 2,330 people have been deported during Sir Keir’s first full year in office, compared to 2,516 in the final year of the Conservative Government.
In total, just 6,313 small boat migrants have been returned since the crisis began in 2018.
