More Iraqis seek asylum in UK

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The number of Iraqis seeking asylum in the UK has doubled in three months, according to the latest figures.

The Home Office's quarterly statistics show 530 Iraqis applied for asylum in the three months to September 2007.

That figure is double the rate of applicants from the war-torn country of just a few months earlier.

A Home Office spokesman said the overall number of 2007 applications for asylum up to the end of September - 16,700 - was the lowest since 1992.

The spokesman said it was too early in the application process to know what percentage of Iraqis were successful in their attempt to stay in the country.

So far in 2007, 16,700 people have claimed asylum, 5,890 of them in the three months from July to September - a statistic the Home Office says reflects a routine seasonal increase.

Integrity undermined

The latest figures also reflect a concerted effort by the Home Office to remove foreign criminals from the UK, but the number of voluntary removals of illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers has dropped.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said the Border and Immigration Agency had overseen a 15% increase in removals of foreign prisoners between July and September for a total of 3,500.

"In March this year I said the first people we should send home are those who break British laws," Mr Byrne said in a statement.

"Now we're removing record numbers of foreign criminals including illegal workers who risk undercutting UK wages."

Getting an asylum claim wrong can be the difference between life and death Donna Covey, the Refugee Council

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, which campaigns against mass immigration, said the removal rate of failed asylum applicants was not good enough.

In the first nine months of this year, 9,900 failed asylum seekers and their dependents were removed, down from 14,170 for the same period in 2006.

"This failure to remove undermines the integrity of the whole system," Sir Andrew said.

The Refugee Council said they were concerned about the number of asylum seekers kept in detention and "fast-tracked" through the application process.

"And we must always remember that getting an asylum claim wrong can be the difference between life and death," said the council's Donna Covey.