Immigration News

Figures have revealed that last year over £14 million was paid out in legal costs and compensation to asylum seekers and other immigrants.

The UK Border Agency’s annual report for 2010/2011, revealed the payments were £2 million more than the previous year.

Cases included payments to families who were unlawfully detained and removed, as well as £175,000 in compensation to an asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained and injured while in custody.

Legal costs alone topped £7.7 million in just over 1,000 cases, compared with £3.8 million for 691 cases in 2009/10.

More than £4 million was also paid out in 152 cases where each individual compensation payment was less than £250,000.

This compared with 837 such cases in 2009/10 which led to £4.4 million in compensation being paid.

Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying out millions every year for compensation claims, whether it is the result of the UK Border Agency’s failure to manage chaotic border controls, or dubious cases in European courts where compensation isn’t really called for.”