Asylum seekers claim they're gay in record numbers in desperate bid to stay in UK

A record number of have secured their stay in the UK by claiming to be gay, official figures have revealed.

At least 2,133 people last year showed that returning to their homeland would be inhumane because of their sexuality - up from 762 in 2022.

Some of the rise seen this year can be attributed to a backlog in applications created by the pandemic but critics argue that this is some people trying to game the system.

All claims were successful for people from Afghanistan, El Salvador, Syria, Eritrea, Myanmar (Burma), Libya, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Yemen.

While Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria saw the largest number of successful applicants.

Albania saw less than ten per cent of their application were successful, making it the most rejected country.

Civil servants at the department are said to be "underwhelmed" by the Government's proposals to tackle Channel crossings and reduce illegal migration to the UK.

More than 16,000 migrants have arrived in the UK since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister, figures released by the Home Office have shown.