Electronic tagging to be rolled out

Adults who claim asylum at immigration screening units will be electronically tagged.

Immigration minister Tony McNulty said it would discourage unfounded asylum applications.

It will be applied to all adult claimants, except victims of torture or trafficking, at the screening units in Liverpool and Croydon.

Trials began at the two units last December. About 150 people are currently tagged and the compliance rate is 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, MPs warned it could take 10 to 18 years to clear the backlog of failed asylum seekers in the UK. Official estimates put the backlog at between 155,000 and 283,500.