Some 69,038 are now living in houses, flats and bedsits – including large HMOs – which is up from 68,719 asylum seekers in May. This includes 4,790 failed asylum seekers.
The asylum system is in crisis (Image: Getty)
Almost 70,000 asylum seekers are now living in communities as Labour continues to spread migrants across the country, bombshell new figures reveal. Some 69,038 are now living in houses, flats and bedsits – including large houses in multiple occupation or HMOs – which is up from 68,719 asylum seekers in May. This includes 4,790 failed asylum seekers. The number of migrants living in hotels has fallen to 16,021.
It comes a week after the Daily Express revealed that the Home Office is telling asylum seekers not to rape or beat women, and to not have sex with children, as concerns over cultural values intensify. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has vowed to close every migrant hotel by the next General Election. But the growing numbers in ‘dispersal accommodation’ will anger the public even more, ministers were told, because communities will be unable to cope.
Britain’s asylum crisis was laid bare as 85,891 sought sanctuary in the UK last year, down from 106,130 in the previous 12 months.
An alarming 33,949 people applied after crossing the Channel on a dinghy, while 34,999 claimed refuge after arriving on a study, work or visitor visa.
Of this group, 9,442 held a study visa, 14,151 arrived on a work visa, 6,392 used a visitor visa and 5,014 held other forms of leave.
One in 10 asylum seekers were from Pakistan, with 8,305 in total. Most sought protection after arriving on a visa. Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Indians and Nigerians were the most common nationalities to seek sanctuary after travelling to the UK legally.
Eritreans, Afghans, Iranians, Sudanese and Somalis have accounted for the biggest cohorts of small boat migrants so far this year.
Home Office spending on asylum in the UK stood at £4.36 billion in 2025/26, down 8% from £4.76 billion in 2024/25 and the second annual fall in a row, Government figures show.
The total covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other migration and borders activity.
It does not include costs relating to the interception of migrants who travel to the UK across the English Channel in small boats.
Spending hit a record high of £5.38 billion in 2023/24.
In a startling admission in the booklet for asylum seekers, officials said: “Women do not need permission from a husband, father, brother or any other man to do any of these things.
“Men and women are treated equally by the law, by employers, by schools and by services like hospitals and the police. It is against the law to treat someone unfairly because of their gender.”
Migrants are also being told domestic abuse is illegal and that the age of consent in the UK is 16.
Immigration chiefs warn: “Sex with someone under the age of 16 is a serious crime in the UK. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if they say yes, it is still illegal. You could go to prison, lose your support and accommodation, and it will affect your asylum claim.”
Migrants are told not to deny children food, or “cut or harm a girl’s genitals”.
And the staggering advice even details what rape is, insisting that “consent” is needed in every sexual situation.
The document states: “This means even if you are married or in a relationship with someone, they must consent to sex every time.
“If you have sex with someone without their consent, this is called rape. Rape is a serious crime in the UK. You could go to prison, lose your support and accommodation, and it will affect your asylum claim.”
Guidance published in the booklet for asylum seekers adds: “Someone can change their mind at any time, even if they said yes before.
“If someone is asleep, drunk, or unable to respond, they cannot consent.”