Rishi Sunak investigated over ‘barefaced lie’ asylum backlog has been cleared
Rishi Sunak’s declare that ministers have “cleared” the asylum backlog is being investigated by the official statistics watchdog after allegations it’s a “barefaced lie”.
The UK Statistics Authority is wanting into the Government’s announcement that it has cleared a “legacy” backlog of purposes, after figures confirmed greater than 4,500 of those are nonetheless ready an preliminary resolution.
Nearly 100,000 asylum seekers are nonetheless ready for an preliminary resolution regardless of Tory brags of clearing the backlog. Latest Home Office figures present the UK’s backlog stood at an enormous 98,599 on the finish of 2023 – 16 occasions increased than when the Conservatives took energy and up from 91,076 in November.
Home Secretary James Cleverly additionally faces uncomfortable questions on greater than 17,000 individuals who vanished after withdrawing their purposes. He was additionally compelled to confess that officers do not know the place individuals who withdraw purposes go – however vowed to “go looking for them”
In a significant pledge, the Prime Minister promised to clear the backlog of the 92,000 instances of people that had claimed asylum earlier than June 28 final 12 months however have been nonetheless awaiting an preliminary resolution. The Home Office mentioned on Tuesday that the “commitment of clearing the legacy asylum backlog has been delivered”, with an analogous wording repeated by the Prime Minister.
“I said that this government would clear the backlog of asylum decisions by the end of 2023. That’s exactly what we’ve done,” Mr Sunak wrote on social media web site Twitter/X.
But figures printed by the Home Office confirmed that 4,537 complicated legacy purposes have been nonetheless “awaiting an initial decision” as of December 28. The statistics watchdog confirmed that its regulatory arm, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), would scrutinise the declare. “I can confirm the OSR is looking into the Government’s announcement yesterday,” a spokesman mentioned.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock was amongst these to have criticised the Government’s declare. “The Prime Minister’s barefaced lie that he has cleared the asylum backlog would be laughable if it wasn’t such an insult to the public’s intelligence,” Mr Kinnock mentioned.
The chairman of the UK Statistics Authority Sir Robert Chote final month challenged Mr Sunak’s claims to have diminished public debt. Sir Robert mentioned his claims on social media that “debt is falling” and that “we have indeed reduced debt” at Prime Minister’s Questions have been deceptive.
Reducing debt was one in every of Mr Sunak’s 5 guarantees he made to the nation, as was “stopping the boats”. Apart from the one to halve inflation, the Prime Minister has been struggling to realize the core pledges.
