The asylum backlog by numbers: what has driven waiting lists to record highs?
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Irregular routes In the year to June, 52,530 asylum seekers arrived by so-called irregular routes – a 17 per cent uptick from a year earlier. Safe and legal routes The prime minister’s promise to “stop the boats” crossing the English channel hinges on the insistence that refugees must reach Britain using “safe and legal routes”. Those arriving via safe and legal routes, such as the bespoke schemes to bring those fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine, are not the reason for the growing asylum backlog. But the United Nations’ refugee agency the UNCHR warns that for those falling outside of specific schemes, “there are no safe and regular routes” to seek asylum in the UK.
Number of people awaiting an asylum decision in UK surges by 300% in four years
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