The bombshell move that could end the Channel migrant hotel crisis

More failed asylum seekers should be allowed to appeal from their home countries to get them out of taxpayer-funded hotels, a minister has said.

Baroness Jenny Chapman, the Foreign Office minister responsible for , said there is "no legal reason" not to allow more asylum appeals from abroad.

Diplomats could even be encouraged to raise the proposition with countries refusing to take back migrants.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice have revealed a five-fold increase in the number of asylum claims waiting for a hearing.

There were some 41,987 asylum appeals caught up in the backlog at the end of last year, up from 7,173 at the start of 2023.

Baroness Chapman told the Daily Express the Government is considering the shift when asked about the prospect of return hubs being set up for illegal migrants.

She said: "If they've applied for asylum here and their application has been declined, there's no legal reason, in many cases, not all, because there will be some places that we wouldn't want to send people back to Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran.

"But there are places where you could return them at that point. And then if they wanted to make an appeal, they could make that appeal in country, in their own country, and there is no legal reason why we can't do that.

"That's something that this department is also considering doing. So you don't even need a big return hub in order to do that."

Migrants can only appeal from abroad if they have already been given the legal right to appeal, meaning they will likely remain in the UK whilst they begin legal proceedings.

They currently have 28 days to appeal once they have left the country.

Asked to set out how it could work in practice, the Foreign Office minister said: "Suppose you have made your claim, it has been denied. You then have the ability to appeal.

"At the moment we'd be putting you up in a hotel for who knows how long, because it takes that long because of the backlogs. The Home Office has done a good job, and it's getting better, thank goodness.

"But the idea that you get to stay in a hotel while you exhaust every legal process there is, is, I don't think, the right way to think about this. We need to consider the ability to make sure that those claims can take place outside of the UK."

Baroness Chapman said the move would signal "we're serious about dealing with these things" and "that you can't expect to come here and stay for years, building a life, improving your chances of getting your claim agreed, indefinitely, at taxpayers' expense."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp: "The only thing that will stop illegal immigration and the inevitable asylum claim that follows is to rapidly remove illegal immigrants to a safe third country- like Rwanda. The deterrent effect will soon stop the crossings.

"Other countries should take back their own nationals anyway when asked by the UK - whether there is an asylum appeal pending or not."

More than 38,000 migrants are staying in hotel rooms, costing £5.5 million a day. A further 65,707 are in other accommodation.

Putting someone in a hotel room costs £145 per night, compared with £14 for accommodation such as houses, bedsits and flats, the National Audit Office said. Baroness Chapman confirmed diplomats are in talks with "a lot" of countries about securing new returns agreements.

She added: "I don't know how many, but we've got 24,000 who have been returned since July. We've got many, many more discussions taking place across Europe, Africa, Asia. This is a global issue.

"There are the routes that everybody knows about, but actually, there are people coming from Africa and Asia via Latin America. This is a completely global industry."

Baroness Chapman added: "My point has always been, if a deterrent works as a deterrent. Let's do it. But I didn't see the Rwanda scheme as a deterrent, because no one got returned. Deterrents are a good thing, but only if they actually believe in them.

"A good deterrent is faster processing, so when people arrive, they get returned as quickly as possible".

A total of 133,409 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of September 2024. This is up 12% from 118,882 at the end of June 2024, but down year on year by 19% from 165,411 at the end of September 2023.

The number 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 six months for an initial decision stood at 83,888 at the end of September, up from 76,268 at the end of June, but down year-on-year by 33% from 124,461.

Dozens of migrants were detected crossing the Channel on Friday - the first to be brought into Dover since March 27. Some 4586 people in 80 boats were picked up in March, taking the total so far this year to 6,642 in 119 boats.

More than 30,000 migrants have been intercepted since Labour came into government in July last year. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at an Organised Immigration Crime Summit on Monday, admitted Channel migrants and failed asylum seekers could be sent abroad to "return hubs".

The Home Office has discussed proposals to set up overseas "return hubs" to house asylum seekers who have had their claims rejected and all appeals exhausted.

Officials are refusing to reveal who the Home Office is talking to, though Western Balkan nations are widely believed to be a potential host.

Sir Keir said: "We will look at anything that works. Obviously that's got to be consistent with international law and it's got to be cost-effective. The Rwanda scheme was neither of those. But we are working with other countries on anything that we think will work.

"I obviously, as you know, went over to Italy to visit Giorgia Meloni to have an in-depth discussion with her about some of the work that she was doing."

The countries involved would be paid by the UK for every failed asylum seeker they agreed to take on. The move would allow Britain to remove failed asylum seekers from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.