Sunak Declares Asylum Backlog Is Cleared as Labour Disputes the Claim

Some 4,500 ‘complex cases’ remain outstanding among over 92,000 legacy claims the prime minister vowed to process, with 94,062 new claims added to the pile.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room, London, on Dec. 7, 2023. James Manning

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “abolish” legacy asylum backlog by 2023 has been delivered, the Home Office said, while Labour accused the government of “cooking the books.”

In a statement published on Tuesday, the Home Office said Mr. Sunak’s “commitment of clearing the legacy asylum backlog has been delivered.”