Immigration minister slams 'abuse-riddled' asylum system trends now

Robert Jenrick today slammed the asylum system as 'riddled with abuse' as he defended making arrivals share hotel rooms.

The immigration minister insisted that with a backlog of more than 150,000 applications the government had to push through 'fundamental' changes. 

While stressing the UK would support those who 'genuinely need our help', Mr Jenrick dismissed criticism that some arrivals were being asked to share hotel rooms - saying that was 'reasonable'. 

Rishi Sunak has made 'stopping the boats' one of his key pledges ahead of the general election due next year.

But Tories are anxious that not enough progress is being made in curbing numbers crossing the Channel. The government has unveiled plans to crack down on who can claim asylum, as well as pushing to deport applicants to Rwanda. 

The Home Office's own assessment suggests that detaining and deporting people will cost up to £6billion over the next two years, according to the BBC. 

Mr Jenrick said a lot of progress has been made on illegal migration in a short period of time, with 'really unique landmark deals' with France seeing a 'big increase' in the number of interceptions on the beaches.

But he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'The asylum system is riddled with abuse, we have to be honest with ourselves.

'The way to tackle that is by changing fundamentally the way we handle asylum.'

Mr Jenrick said the Illegal Migration Bill to detain migrants who arrive through unauthorised means before returning them home or to a third country, such as Rwanda, will alleviate the pressure.

'That will create the deterrent we desperately need, it will break the business model of the people smuggle gangs and it will stop the system

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