Overview

• Of 32,000 people housed in asylum hotels, 339 appeared before magistrates in the first half of 2025 facing charges from GBH and robbery to rape.
• Among those cases, 29 were sexual offences including seven alleged rapes, one indecent exposure and one attempt at sexual communication with a child.
• Sixty-four charges involved violent crimes such as ABH, GBH and possession of a firearm.
• France has stepped up shallow-water interdictions along the Channel coast as the two governments roll out a pilot “one-in, one-out” scheme to return small-boat arrivals and admit an equal number via a legal route.
• Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp urged tougher measures on border security while the Home Office said the figures cover only a fraction of total court cases and condemned criminal conduct by asylum seekers.