Migrants fighting deportation from UK received over £70m in legal aid in past five years

MIGRANTS fighting deportation from the UK were handed more than £70m in legal aid in the last five years, figures show.

Bills for solicitors and lawyers totalled £71m between 2019 and 2023 – an average of £38,000 a day.

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The bank-busting figure includes £13m last year and a record £18m in 2020.

Aid bills could still surge to all-time highs this year as courts and the Home Office continue to deal with a huge asylum backlog amid hundreds of illegal arrivals a week.

Asylum seekers can retain solicitors to work on their appeals if the Home Office decides not to grant them leave in the UK.

Campaigners claim the stats prove do-gooder lefty lawyers are lining their pockets by convincing vulnerable immigrant clients to mount a string of expensive court bids despite no realistic prospect of them remaining in the UK.

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Senior solicitors and pricey barristers can also be instructed, using thousands in taxpayer funds, if the case appears at an Immigration and Asylum Tribunal.

Senior Tory MP Nigel Mills said: “These figures show that the Legal Aid system needs to be monitored much more robustly to ensure we are not wasting money on spurious appeals and blatant delaying tactics.

“People are entitled to legal representation but taxpayers are entitled to know their money is not being wasted and that funding these appeals is justified.

“Appeals like these should only be allowed if there is very clear evidence the Home Office’s decision is wrong.

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“We need to get the message out that if you come here and you haven’t got a case, you will be rejected and you will be deported.”

Alp Mehmet, Chairman of the Migration Watch think tank, added: “Dealing with and removing illegal arrivals swiftly is the only way to discourage them from coming, save the taxpayer huge sums and stem the tide of clients for traffickers and activist lawyers.”

A Government spokesman said: “The UK has a proud history of welcoming and supporting those in need of our protection and legal aid helps ensure decisions on who can stay – and who cannot - are made correctly, preventing costlier court cases.”