Drop in asylum hotel use

The number of asylum seekers being housed in UK hotels has fallen to the lowest level for 18 months.

Protests have been held outside the Cladhan in Falkirk, which is being used to house asylum seekers.

Home Office figures shows just over 30-thousand asylum seekers were in hotels at the end of last year.

A Home Office spokesperson said:   "These statistics show real progress as we restore order and control to our borders.

"We have removed nearly 60,000 illegal migrants, numbers in asylum hotels are down, law enforcement action against people smugglers is at record levels and we are bearing down on the asylum backlog.

"But we must go further. The number of people crossing the Channel is too high, and too many hotels remain in use.

"That is why the Home Secretary is introducing sweeping reforms to tackle the pull factors drawing illegal migrants to Britain, and we are ramping up removals of those with no right to be here.