Reform’s Zia Yusuf has hit out at “soft touch Britain” as he warned the migrant crisis will not improve under Labour.

He told the Express: “The situation is dire and not only is it not improving, it is getting worse.

“Ultimately, British people, they are generous, they are warmhearted, they’re welcoming but they’ve had enough now. Britain is full. We have no infrastructure to cope.

“People are being soaked in taxes to pay for all of these people to basically live a life of leisure at taxpayer expense.”

CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: “While the government might be tempted to highlight the fact that the number of migrants being returned to their home countries is increasing back towards pre-Covid levels, ultimately these numbers – 9,100 in the year to June 2025 – are a drop in the ocean.

“Around 111,000 people made asylum claims over the same period, the highest level on record, surpassing the previous peak of 103,000 in 2002.

“Worryingly, this is not just driven by the small boats, which account for only 39% of claims in the last year.

“Many people are also arriving on legal routes only to then claim asylum at a later date. In the last year this included 14,800 migrants on study visas and 12,200 on work visas.

“Nevertheless, it is the Channel crossings – and the migrant hotels – which worry the British public the most.

“So far Channel crossings have averaged 124 migrants per day under the current government. Were this rate to continue, around 230,000 migrants could arrive in small boats during this Parliament.”

More than 25,000 migrants claimed asylum after arriving in the UK on legal visas, shocking analysis has revealed.

Some 14,800 made a claim after moving to the UK on a student visa, while 12,200 claimed after being granted a work visa.

It will prompt renewed concern over the abuse of the UK asylum system.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour has presided over the worst year on record for Channel crossings, with nearly 28,000 people already arriving illegally in 2025, up 47% on last year and the highest figure ever recorded.

“At the same time, numbers in asylum hotels are back up to 32,059, higher than at the time of the election. Compare that to the nine months before the election, when the Conservatives cut numbers in hotels by 47% and shut almost 200 sites.

“At our pace of closure, the hotels would already be gone, but numbers in hotels have gone up under Labour.

“Returns have gone down too and only 5% of small boat arrivals are being removed. Without returns there is no deterrence, and without deterrence the boats will never stop.

“This is a migration crisis, and the weak Labour government is making it worse.

“More crossings, more migrants in hotels and fewer removals – Labour has lost control of Britain’s borders.

“Only the Conservatives have a plan to fix this by deporting every illegal arrival and sending the smugglers scurrying back into the shadows. But Labour voted against our measures to do this in Parliament just few weeks ago.”

There were 90,812 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2025.

This is down 17% from 109,536 at the end of March and down 24% from 118,882 a year earlier at the end of June 2024.

The total peaked at 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

The number of people waiting more than 12 months for an initial decision stood at 27,998 at the end of June, down from 40,773 at the end of March and well below the recent peak of 91,741 in June 2023.

Pakistani was the most common nationality among asylum applicants in the year to June 2025, accounting for 11,234 people, or 10.1% of the total.

This is up from 8,383 in the year to June 2024, when it was the second most common nationality (8.6% of the total).

Afghan was the second most common nationality in the latest period, (8,281 people, 7.5% of the total), down from 9,342 (9.6%) in the previous 12 months, when it was the most common nationality.

Iranian was third (7,746 people, 7.0% of the total), the same ranking as in the previous 12 months (7,660 people, 7.9%).

The fourth most common nationality was Eritrean, with 7,433 people (6.7% of the total), up year on year from 4,405 (4.5%) when it ranked in eighth place.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We inherited a broken immigration and asylum system that the previous Government left in chaos.

“Since coming to office we have strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns, as today’s figures show.

“The action we have taken in the last 12 months – increasing returns of failed asylum seekers by over 30%, cutting asylum costs by 11%, reducing the backlog by 18% and our forthcoming plans to overhaul the failing asylum appeal system – are crucial steps to restoring order, and putting an end to the chaotic use of asylum hotels that we inherited from the previous government.

“At the same time, we are bringing legal migration back under control, with a 48% reduction in work visas this year – and further stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper expected to bring those overall numbers down further.

“As we roll out further reforms, including the new pilot with France, new counter terror powers to strengthen border security, and new asylum reforms later this year (including reforms to speed up the persistent delays in the appeals system), we will continue to take the serious steps required to restore order, control and fairness to the system and to continue building the foundations of a new and stronger approach.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage insisted the public is “right to be angry” with the Government and their predecessors over the rise in asylum seekers being housed in hotels.

He said: “Under Labour we now have record numbers claiming asylum.

“The vast majority should never qualify and most will cost the taxpayer a huge sum of money.

“Our streets are becoming more dangerous yet this disaster gets worse.

“The public are right to be very angry with both Labour and the Tories for what they have done to us.”

The number of Channel migrants being deported has fallen under Labour, new figures show.

Some 2,330 people who arrived on small boats have been removed during Sir Keir Starmer’s first full year in office.

The figure is 7% lower than the 2,516 sent back in the final year of the Conservative Government.

The drop will prompt renewed fears over the lack of a deterrent to people hoping to make the dangerous crossing.

Just 1,174 small boat migrants have been deported so far this year, compared to 2,377 in 2024, according to the data.

The number of people claiming asylum in the UK reached a record 111,084 during Sir Keir Starmer’s first year in office, new figures show.

It is the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

The number is up 14% from 97,107 in the year to June 2024, according to data published by the Home Office.

The previous record for a 12-month period was 109,343 in the year to March 2025.

Migrants who arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats accounted for 39% of the total number of people claiming asylum in the year to June.

Spending on asylum in the UK stood at £4.76 billion in 2024/25, down 12% from a record £5.38 billion in 2023/24, Home Office figures show.

The total covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other migration and borders activity.

A total of 32,059 asylum seekers were staying in hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government, Home Office data shows.

The figure is 8% higher than 29,585 the same point 12 months ago.

However, it is down slightly on the 32,345 figure at the end of March.

Kemi Badenoch has called for more Conservative councils to launch legal challenges over asylum hotels.

In a letter to Tory councils, the party leader said she was “encouraging” them to “take the same steps” as Epping Council “if your legal advice supports it”.

Epping secured a temporary injunction from the High Court earlier this week blocking the use of the Essex town’s Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds.

The decision has prompted councils controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK to investigate whether they could pursue a similar course of action.

Labour dismissed Mrs Badenoch’s letter as “desperate and hypocritical nonsense”.

The Home Office is set to release quarterly asylum, visa and resettlement figures covering the period from April to June at 9.30am.