Over 280,000 failed asylum seekers could still be in Britain despite extra cash being spent to remove them

BBC News:

In September 2004 Tony Blair said monthly removals should exceed rejected applications by the end of 2005.

But according to the National Audit Office (NAO), the immigration authorities are struggling to meet the prime minister's demands.

Immigration Minister Tony McNulty said the government had upped removals and cut asylum applications significantly.

"We remain committed to our aim of removing more people on a monthly basis by the end of 2005 than there are new unfounded claims," he added.

"In 1996 the number of removals was equivalent to only 20% of predicted unfounded claims, now that proportion is around 50%."

Problems found by the NAO included delays in obtaining travel documents, poor co-ordination between different branches of the system and insufficient use of an existing assisted voluntary return programme.

The NAO's report 'Returning Failed Asylum Applicants' notes that between 1994 and May 2004 363,000 asylum applications were rejected but just 79,500 people removed - leaving 283,500.

It notes that some of those still in the country would have been granted leave to remain or would now be able to stay thanks to EU expansion - and some might have left the UK voluntarily.

In May 2004 the database of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) identified 155,000 failed applicants as potentially removable, although that figure excludes cases which predate the database's introduction in 2000.

Neither figure incorporates people who overstayed their leave to remain in the UK, a number that has not been quantified.

The NAO report says that in the five year period from 2000/1 to 2004/5 the IND increased the number of failed applicants being returned to their country or origin or a safe third country by 35% up from 8,960 to 12,110.

But the removal or voluntary return of 1,000 a month in 2004/5 was significantly less than the number of unsuccessful applications, which averaged around 2,150 each month.

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