UK asylum applications fell by more than a fifth annually, government figures showed Thursday, as ministers grapple with the politically contentious issue and reducing record-high recent numbers alongside asylum spending. Migrants who had crossed the English Channel in small boats -- a highly contentious route that has fuelled the rise of the UK far right -- accounted for 40 percent of the applications in the most recent period.

There were 16,000 asylum seekers living in Home Office hotels in June this year, down 50 per cent on a year earlier

Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe number of asylum seekers residing in Home Office hotels dropped by 50 per cent year-on-year to 16,000 in June. Small boat crossings…