Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to end the use of asylum hotels has been ripped apart just hours before a fresh wave of migrant arrivals reached British shores.
David Bolt, who serves as independent chief inspector of borders, provided a far from glistening assessment while addressing MPs at the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday.
Responding to Shadow Environment Minister Robbie Moore, Bolt said: “I’m not entirely clear what its strategy is. If it has one, it hasn’t articulated it in a way that I know what it stands for.”
He added: “In terms of the planning … and if there’s a different direction asylum accommodation might go in, not having a clear strategy is going to have an impact on that.”
Bolt also voiced concern about the Government’s switch from large sites to small and medium sized sites.
“I’m not entirely sure exactly what that means,” Bolt told MPs.
Starmer’s Government had vowed to close asylum hotels before entering power following the 2024 General Election.
However, Immigration Minister Dame Angela Eagle admitted in November that Labour opened more hotels than it closed.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The Tories immediately accused Starmer of breaching his manifesto pledge after the Prime Minister promised to end the use of asylum hotels in a bid to claw back billions of pounds.
After opening a number of additional asylum hotels, the total costs for housing migrants soared to just over £4.2million a day.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper even suggested that Labour aimed to end the use of hotels within one year of power, giving Starmer just 107 days to close all remaining previously commercial accommodation sites.
The border tsar’s comments also come after a fresh surge of Channel crossing migrants reached British shores.
Migrant crossings recorded earlier this month resulted in the UK reaching yet another shocking milestone, with 592 arrivals on March 2 marking a 20 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
GB News also revealed that another 120 migrants crossed the English Channel today, taking the overall number for 2025 to almost 4,500.
Responding to the latest wave of Channel crossings, a Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”
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David Bolt, who serves as independent chief inspector of borders, provided a far from glistening assessment while addressing MPs at the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday.
Responding to Shadow Environment Minister Robbie Moore, Bolt said: “I’m not entirely clear what its strategy is. If it has one, it hasn’t articulated it in a way that I know what it stands for.”
He added: “In terms of the planning … and if there’s a different direction asylum accommodation might go in, not having a clear strategy is going to have an impact on that.”
Bolt also voiced concern about the Government’s switch from large sites to small and medium sized sites.
“I’m not entirely sure exactly what that means,” Bolt told MPs.
Starmer’s Government had vowed to close asylum hotels before entering power following the 2024 General Election.
However, Immigration Minister Dame Angela Eagle admitted in November that Labour opened more hotels than it closed.
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The Tories immediately accused Starmer of breaching his manifesto pledge after the Prime Minister promised to end the use of asylum hotels in a bid to claw back billions of pounds.
After opening a number of additional asylum hotels, the total costs for housing migrants soared to just over £4.2million a day.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper even suggested that Labour aimed to end the use of hotels within one year of power, giving Starmer just 107 days to close all remaining previously commercial accommodation sites.
The border tsar’s comments also come after a fresh surge of Channel crossing migrants reached British shores.
Migrant crossings recorded earlier this month resulted in the UK reaching yet another shocking milestone, with 592 arrivals on March 2 marking a 20 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
GB News also revealed that another 120 migrants crossed the English Channel today, taking the overall number for 2025 to almost 4,500.
Responding to the latest wave of Channel crossings, a Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.
“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”
Find Out More...