Dudley MP criticises 'appalling' plans to fast-track asylum cases amid 160,000 backlog

Dudley North's Marco Longhi criticised the move which would see applicants asked to fill in a questionnaire, rather than automatically be interviewed.

The scheme aim tackle the backlog of asylum seeker claims which sit at 160,919 in the UK at the end of December – the highest since records began.

But whilst the MP said the situation made him angry, and he would be requesting an urgent briefing, it would be "worse" if Labour was in Government.

Speaking to TalkTV, he said: "I will need to do a lot more homework on what the detail is with this and request an urgent briefing from the Home Secretary. On the face of it, it looks appalling.

"I do believe Suella (Braverman, Home Secretary) understands it and gets it, but she has a mountain to climb. Repeated ministers and Home Secretaries have said just how difficult that department is to work with, it's like pushing water uphill.

"This is a legacy of the Tony Blair years whereby pretty much anything any Government department is does is stitched up with legislation that is pro-immigration, pro illegal immigration and just does the wrong thing by the people of this country."

Mr Longhi said the proposals showed just how "out of touch the Home Office machinery is" but warned voters against switching to Labour, who remain ahead in the polls.

He said: "What I say to people is 'if you think it's bad now, just imagine what it would be like under Labour'. And if you choose to vote for any other party, what you're doing under our system right now is voting Labour in.

"Is it good right now? No, it's not – it's bloody awful and I'm bloody angry about it, but you need more people like me banging the drum and holding the Home Secretary's feet and the Prime Minister's feet to the fire and making sure that we achieve change.

"I can but live in hope but I will keep on pressuring this point, we just have to keep trying – we owe it to the people of this country."

Asylum seekers subject to the new process, which applies to adult applicants and their child dependants but not lone migrants under the age of 18, will not be automatically interviewed.

Instead, they will be sent a 10-page questionnaire to fill out, containing about 40 questions which may not all apply to them, and asked to return it within an initial 20 working days before being offered an extension.

Applicants could still be called for an interview and any who do not provide the required information and evidence could have their claim rejected. Those granted asylum will be allowed to work and would then be expected to find their own accommodation.