𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Following the startling revelation that the Home Office does not know the whereabouts of all failed asylum seekers, Express.co.uk readers are being asked: should it? The question follows a damning report from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which found officials only know the location of the “vast majority” of failed asylum seekers in Britain.

MPs have described the situation as “shocking and unacceptable” and called for a complete overhaul of the way failed asylum seekers are monitored once their claims have been rejected. The cross-party committee warned that years of reactive policymaking had left the asylum system struggling with rising costs, growing backlogs and a lack of clear accountability. According to the report, around 100,600 people were claiming asylum in the UK in December 2025 – more than double the figure recorded in December 2019.

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The committee also found that thousands of asylum seekers remain stuck in the system for years. Of 5,000 people who claimed asylum in January 2023, around 41% still had unresolved cases, leaving them in prolonged uncertainty.

MPs have urged the Government to estimate how many failed asylum seekers remain in the country, explain how it intends to trace those with whom it has lost contact and provide clearer timescales for removals.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said the inquiry painted a “disturbing picture” of an asylum system where control had been “all but lost”.

The findings are likely to intensify debate over immigration enforcement and whether authorities have sufficient powers and resources to track people whose asylum claims have failed.

Those in favour of stricter controls argue the Home Office should know the whereabouts of all failed asylum seekers and act quickly when contact is lost.

Others contend that longstanding backlogs, legal barriers and difficulties carrying out removals have contributed to the problem.