FlyTheNest

A “crazy” contradiction in Rishi Sunak’s flagship small-boats law has left the Home Office powerless to deport or grant asylum to more than 22,000 migrants already in the UK, i can reveal.

At least half of the asylum seekers left in limbo indefinitely will be living in costly hotels likely to be costing the taxpayer more than £1.5m a day.

The situation has been caused by the Illegal Migration Act which requires the Government to “remove” illegal migrants but only applies to those who entered the country from 20 July, 2023.

But the same legislation also bans the Government from granting asylum to any migrants who entered the UK illegally “on or after 7 March, 2023”. It has left the Home Office with no practical way of dealing with 22,448 migrants who arrived in the country between those two dates.

A former Tory minister said the situation was caused by their colleagues’ “incompetence” and blamed former home secretary Suella Braverman for rushing through the new small-boats laws and “driving the party into a corner”.

“This is down to ministerial incompetence,” said the MP, who did not want to be named. “They’ve created a system where you cannot process asylum seekers and you cannot remove them.

“We’ve got 22,000 people in limbo through rushing through inadequate legislation that is causing taxpayers huge amounts of money without any action being taken.

“It’s gross incompetence by the very people who keep on shouting about illegal migration.”

A source close to Ms Braverman, responded saying: “The clown who said that has no idea what they’re talking about.”