Keir Starmer makes desperate migration move as boat crossings leave record in tatters

Sir Keir Starmer will overhaul the asylum appeal system in a bid to speed up the deportation of people with no right to be in the UK. Yvette Cooper promised to implement the new scheme amid protests about the use of hotel accommodation for migrants.

The Home Secretary said "completely unacceptable" delays in the appeals process left failed asylum seekers in the system for years. There are about 51,000 asylum appeals waiting to be heard, taking on average more than a year to reach a decision.

As measures have been put in place to speed up initial decisions, court delays over appeals are now thought to be the biggest cause of pressure in the asylum accommodation system.

The Government plans to set up a new independent panel focused on asylum appeals to help reduce the backlog. It will use professionally-trained adjudicators, rather than relying on judges.

Ministers are introducing a new 24-week deadline for the first-tier tribunal to determine asylum appeals by those receiving accommodation support and appeals by foreign offenders.

But they believe the current tribunal system, which covers a wide range of different cases, is still failing to ensure failed asylum seekers can be returned as swiftly as possible, nor can it accommodate a fast-track system for safe countries.

The Government will set out further details of plans for asylum system reforms in the autumn, drawing on lessons from other European countries which have faster appeals systems - including some which run independent appeals bodies similar to the one being proposed.

The Home Secretary said the overhaul would result in a system which is "swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place".

She said: "We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end. That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system."

Ms Cooper said that since the general election the Government has reduced the backlog of people waiting for initial decisions by 24% and increased failed asylum returns by 30%.

She added: "But we cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer."

Official figures released earlier this month showed a total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

The record level of applications comes as the backlog of people waiting for an initial decision on their claims dropped to 90,812 at the end of June.

There were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of June. Labour has promised to end their use by 2029.

As of August 20, a total of 27,997 migrants had crossed the English Channel in small boats this year. This is up from 18,342 for the same period in 2024.

Protests by groups opposed to the use of hotels and counter-demonstrations took place in towns and cities across the UK on Saturday.

In Bristol, mounted police were brought in to separate rival groups in the Castle Park, and officers scuffled with protesters.

Avon and Somerset Police said no officer sustained serious physical injury or has required hospital treatment, but inquiries will be carried out after reports of assaults on them.

In Horley, Surrey, about 200 anti-immigration protesters draped in St George and Union flags clashed with roughly 50 Stand Up to Racism protesters.

The two groups almost came together in the early afternoon, with lines of police separating them.

The Stand Up to Racism protesters were shepherded into a smaller area as they continued to chant "no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here", which were met with "no they're f****** not" from the other side of the street.

On Tuesday, the High Court granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction to remove asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, from September 12. The hotel had been a flashpoint for protests in recent weeks.

The Government announced plans on Friday to appeal against the High Court's refusal to allow it to intervene in the case and to further appeal against the temporary injunction.

Other councils also publicly announced their intention to seek legal advice as to whether they could achieve a similar injunction for hotels in their areas.

Reform UK's Nigel Farage has set out plans for mass deportations if he becomes prime minister. Arresting asylum seekers on arrival, automatic detention and forced deportation to countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea are among the proposals which will be set out in detail on Tuesday.

They also include deals with third countries, which could include reviving the Conservatives' Rwanda scheme, and sending asylum seekers to British overseas territories such as Ascension Island as a "fallback" option.

Mr Farage said the plans could see hundreds of thousands of people deported and five charter flights taking off from the UK every day.

The first step of Reform UK's plans would be to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and to scrap the Human Rights Act, followed by legislation to bar those who come to the UK on small boats from claiming asylum.