We are led to believe that asylum seekers live in desperate penury as they wait to have their applications processed by the Home Office.
Banned from working or claiming the benefits for which United Kingdom citizens can apply, it is commonly said they are surviving on as little as £8 a week.
Few, certainly, are well off. But, while it is true that asylum seekers have no access to the normal benefits system, there are myriad handouts for which they are in fact eligible – goods and services which, in one way or another, are at least partly funded through our taxes.
Asylum seekers are given housing, for example, and food – both provided directly by the state.
Then there is a network of charities providing a range of benefits, many funded through grants from central government. This week, the absurdity of the system was laid bare as it was revealed that many of those who have come to Britain in small boats are being offered discounted days out on a dinghy.
