Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping boat arrivals one
of his five priorities after the number of migrants arriving on
the south coast of England soared to a record level in 2022 of
more than 45,000, up 500% in the last two years.
Already this year, more than 5,000 more people have arrived in
Britain across the Channel.
In court documents submitted as part of a case being brought
against it at London's High Court on Wednesday, the government
said as of March it was estimated to be accommodating more than
109,000 asylum seekers, with 48,000 in hotels at a cost of 6.2
million pounds ($7.7 million) per day.
"Significantly, the number needing support is predicted to grow
still further: Home Office operational plans are based on
scenarios of up to 56,000 small boat arrivals in 2023," the
document said. "That would take the supported population to
between 120,000 and 140,000."
Anger over immigration has become a big issue in British
politics, and in March, Sunak's Conservative government
announced a new law which would bar anyone who arrived in a
small boat from claiming asylum and see them deported back to
their homeland or a safe third country.
Last year, Britain agreed a deal to send tens of thousands of
migrants more than 4,000 miles away (6,400 km) to Rwanda but so
far no one has been deported while the courts decide whether the
policy is lawful.
In the meantime, the government is examining using military
bases or large barges to house asylum seekers, but that has
prompted anger from some Conservative-run councils over plans to
accommodate migrants in disused sites in their areas.
One of those, Braintree Council which covers an area to the
northeast of London, was seeking an injunction at the High Court
on Wednesday to prevent the government using an air base for
this purpose.
($1 = 0.8055 pounds)
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin, Editing by Angus
MacSwan)
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