Government claims rise of quarter in asylum seeker removals

The government claims nearly a quarter more asylum seekers were
removed from Britain in the last year compared to 2001-02.

Immigration minister Beverley Hughes said 24 per cent more
failed asylum seekers were sent back to their original countries in
2002-03. She also said Britain has been the first country to
forcefully remove asylum seekers to Afghanistan.

Hughes was responding to a home affairs select committee report,
which had expressed frustration with the lack of reliable
statistics on the asylum situation in the UK.

“I understand the committee’s frustration at the lack of
reliable statistical information about the illegal population in
this country. This is a problem faced by all western countries.
However, I have already commissioned work to assess whether there
is a reliable way that we can make an assessment of this in the
UK,” she said.