Migration chaos could continue until 2039 in fresh blow to Labour

Britain's migrant crisis could continue for the best part of 15 years, shocking documents have revealed.

The Home Office wants to find firms to provide asylum accommodation, transport, food, security, and welfare monitoring until at least 2036.

But the contract - seen by the Daily Express - revealed it could be extended up until 2039.

It comes as a shocking report revealed billions of pounds were squandered on up to 400 hotels for asylum seekers as the Channel migrant crisis spiralled out of control.

Reform UK Nigel Farage said: "There are certain companies that have made massive profits, you only have to look at the share price of one or two of the to see what an absolute racket the whole thing has been.

"Who is in charge of the Home Office? The British Government. We were told over 20 years ago, in Blair's term, that the Home Office was not fit for purpose.

"It's about time someone in Government had the guts to do something to deal with it. The most interesting thing about the hotels story, which hasn't been reported unless I've missed it, is there are tenders now out until 2036, which shows you this Government has absolutely no intention of putting a stop to illegal immigration."

The Home Affairs Select Committee said ministers and officials "neglected" day-to-day management of their asylum accommodation providers, as the cost of the 10-year contracts tripled from £4.5bn to £15.3bn.

And the companies made "excessive" profits at taxpayers' expense, the scathing report found.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accepted "mistakes had been made" in the Home Office under the previous government.

Asked whether the Conservatives need to accept some of the responsibility after the Home Affairs Committee findings, she said: "Well, yes.

"This is why one of the first things I did when I became leader was acknowledge mistakes had been made but we had an answer to this, which was the Rwanda scheme."

More than 32,000 migrants are living in around 210 hotels at a budgeted cost of £2.1bn a year, or £145 per migrant per night.

MPs pressed for the Home Office to prioritise closing hotels where there have been "significant community cohesion issues", as well as hotels in remote areas that can place the most pressure on local services.

They also said that despite the billions of pounds spent on accommodation, there were "too many cases" of poor quality housing including overcrowding, damp, mould and fire safety concerns.

The Home Affairs Committee warned ministers must set out a clear strategy of how to reduce the use of asylum hotels and have a chance to end the "current failed, chaotic and expensive" system that has wasted taxpayers' money.

Expected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 have tripled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, after a "dramatic increase" in demand following the pandemic and rising numbers of those arriving by small boat among the factors.

The report said: "The Home Office has undoubtedly been operating in an extremely challenging environment but its chaotic response has demonstrated that it has not been up to the challenge."

The Government has promised to end the housing of asylum seekers in hotels by 2029 amid mounting pressure over rising costs and a backlash in local communities.

But the committee warned in its report that a promise to appeal to popular opinion without a clear plan for alternative accommodation risks "under-delivery and consequently undermining public trust still further".

"The 2026 break clause and end of the contracts in 2029 represent opportunities to draw a line under the current failed, chaotic and expensive system and move to a model that is more effective and offers value for money," it added.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, defending Labour's record on the asylum accommodation crisis, claimed the Home Office is trying to empty hotels as quickly as possible.

He said: "We inherited a huge mess in relation to pretty well all departments in Government, and that includes the Home Office.

"If you take the issue of asylum hotels, for example, we had years under the previous government where they didn't process claims, so tens of thousands of people didn't have their claims processed.

"They were then housed in hotels. That was the policy of the last government - 400 at the height of it, it's now about 200. I'm determined that we will close those hotels.

"So, we're taking the action. But I can't tell you how frustrated and angry I am that we've been left with a mess as big as this by the last government."