Blunkett sorry for asylum 'fiasco'

The asylum backlog has been under-recorded

Home Secretary David Blunkett has apologised after it emerged the backlog of asylum seekers waiting for decisions on their applications has been hugely underestimated.

A hand count of the applications has revealed the queue contains 43,130 cases - almost double the 22,850 announced last month.

The backlog is still falling, but from a much higher level than we had originally thought

David Blunkett
Home Secretary

Mr Blunkett described the error as a "fiasco" and an embarrassment but insisted he was determined there would never be a repeat of the mistake.

"The backlog figures have now been recounted thoroughly and I am therefore confident that we have levelled the situation, correcting the errors that go back several years," he said.

The last manual count of the applications took place five years ago, he said.

Computer crash

After that count, the data was put into a new computer system, where errors accumulated before the system crashed.

Mr Blunkett explained: "The last time the asylum backlog was physically counted was 1996 and since then, as we focused on actually making the decisions, under-recording has crept in.

Blunkett has apologised for the error

"I want to apologise for the necessity of having to revise the figures in this way. The backlog is still falling, but from a much higher level than we had originally thought."

As well as showing the larger backlog, the latest count has shown too that the number of asylum claims last year was more than 4,000 higher than previously thought.

According to the new figures, 80,315 people sought asylum, compared to the provisional figure of 76,040.

There were also 109,205 decisions were made instead of 110,065 previously recorded.

New procedures

Mr Blunkett said better procedures at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate had been introduced to prevent any miscounts happening again.

In future, quarterly statistics will also include a wider range of information, producing a more reliable indication of trends, including a breakdown of heads of families and their dependants.

News of the miscount came on the day Mr Blunkett announced a raft of new measures aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from entering the UK.

Thermal imaging equipment, acoustic listening devices, X-ray scanners and CCTV are just some of the devices that will be put into use in both the UK and on the French end of the Channel Tunnel.