Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing increasing frustration over his government's handling of asylum hotels and the small boats crisis, a new opinion poll has found.
Protests about the using hotels to house asylum seekers continued over the bank holiday weekend, with counter-demonstrations also taking place, resulting in scuffles in some cases as police kept the two sides apart.
A poll for The Times newspaper has found 71 per cent of respondents believe the Prime Minister is mishandling the issue of asylum hotels.
The poll, carried out by YouGov, also found 37 per cent of voters viewed immigration and asylum as the most important issue facing the country, ahead of 25 per cent who said the economy and 7 per cent the health service.
When it comes to the party voters believe is best able to handle the problem of asylum and immigration, Reform UK came in at 31 per cent, with Labour on 9 per cent and the Conservatives 6 per cent.
The Prime Minister has set out measures to speed up the asylum appeals system to aid the removal of people with no right to be in the UK.
But former Labour home secretary David Blunkett said the government had so far failed to offer a "comprehensive answer or an understandable narrative" on tackling the crisis.
Lord Blunkett, who has suggested temporarily suspending elements of the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Refugee Convention to deal with the problem, called for Mr Starmer to be "radical" in his approach.
"I think that the individual measures the government has taken are extremely helpful in their own right but don't add up either to a comprehensive answer or an understandable narrative,” he told The Times.
"At the moment the issue is so toxic and beginning to get out of the government's grip to the point it is very hard to bring it back. A further package of actions is absolutely vital to start controlling both the public narrative and the delivery."
There were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of the June. Labour has promised to end the use of the sites for those purposes by 2029.
Protests about the use of hotels to house asylum seekers began after one staying at The Bell Hotel in Epping, on the outskirts of London, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
The area’s local council secured an injunction halting the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers and there are reports that others are planning similar legal action.
So far this year, a record 28,288 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats, 46 per cent more than in the same period in 2024.
Official figures released this month show a total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since records began in 2001.
There are about 51,000 asylum appeals waiting to be heard, each taking on average more than a year for a decision, with the backlog now thought to be the biggest cause of pressure in the asylum accommodation system.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said "completely unacceptable" delays in the appeals process left failed asylum seekers in the system for years.
The government has put forward plans for a new system where a panel of independent adjudicators, rather than tribunal judges, deals with appeals over asylum decisions.
Ms Cooper said the overhaul would result in a system which is "swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place".
But the Refugee Council's Imran Hussain said: "The fastest way to speed up asylum appeals is to get decisions right first time. At the moment, nearly half of appeals are successful, meaning that the initial decision was wrong."
The UK recently agreed a deal with Iraq to return illegal migrants as part of wider moves to curtail small boat crossings.
Similar agreements have already been made with Albania and Vietnam since Labour came to power.
Another deal with France recently came into force, where small boat migrants who have arrived over the English Channel from the French coast can be returned.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
The National selections:
5pm: Valcartier
5.30pm: AF Taraha
6pm: Dhafra
6.30pm: Maqam
7pm: AF Mekhbat
7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
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Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
