'Will be done by 2023': Rishi Sunak attempts to clear asylum backlog

Downing Street later clarified that the guarantee only applied to the first claims submitted until the end of June, not the entire backlog. According to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's proposal, a section with 400 specialists will be established specifically to deal with claims from Albanians.

The measures were denounced as cruel and useless by the refugee charity.

With 143,377 individuals waiting for an initial verdict on their asylum claim and unable to work, the backlog has grown significantly in recent years. Nearly 100,000 of them have waited more than six months.


By the end of the following year, the administration anticipates eliminating the backlog of initial asylum rulings, according to Mr Sunak in the Commons.



The official spokeswoman for the prime minister later clarified that this promise only applied to claims made before 28 June, when the Nationality and Borders Act took effect. This, according to him, includes 92,601 first asylum petitions.

The Home Office is under increasing pressure to address the problem, so Sunak has declared the small boat crisis a top priority for his premiership.

This year, more than 40,000 people have travelled across the English Channel in tiny boats, a record high since data collection started in 2018. Albanians now account for 35 per cent of arrivals after a sharp rise in their numbers over the English Channel.

FAQs:

1. Who is the wife of Rishi Sunak?
   Rishi Sunak is married to Akshata Narayan Murthy. Akshata is daughter of Indian business couple Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy.
2. Can Rishi Sunak match the king's wealth?
   Rishi Sunak and his wife hold a fortune of £730,000,000 which is roughly twice King Charles III's estimated net worth.