UK PM Sunak's Claim of Cleared Asylum Backlog Contested

Government figures reveal nearly 100,000 cases still pending, while leaked documents predict rise in Channel crossings.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been accused of misleading the public by claiming that the backlog of migrant asylum cases has been completely cleared, when government figures show the backlog stands at approximately 99,000.
Sunak's claim refers to a specific subset of the backlog, known as the 'legacy backlog', most of which has been resolved, but around 4,500 complex cases are still awaiting an initial decision.
Government figures released Tuesday show the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in 2023 fell by more than a third from the previous year, marking the first decline since current record-keeping began.
Leaked Border Force documents suggest that the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats could rise to around 35,000 this year, potentially undermining Sunak's pledge to 'stop the boats'.
The overall backlog of applications awaiting a decision, including both legacy and non-legacy cases, stands at 98,599, down 10% from the end of November and down 29% from 139,552 at the end of February 2023.