At least 270 people have died in UK awaiting asylum application decisions since 2015, figures show

At least 270 migrants have died in the UK while awaiting a decision on their asylum applications since 2015, figures have revealed.

Home Office data released in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Sky News showed the majority of those who died - 171 - were male.

Three of them were teenagers or children.

Migration charities told Sky News the deaths are of people who have often "fled horrors such as war" and "undergone treacherous journeys to seek sanctuary".

The data is limited to cases where the Home Office has received a notification that the person has died, meaning the true figure could be higher.

Charity Care4Calais said: "These figures confirm what we have known for some time - too many people seeking asylum die waiting for the government to decide their future.

"It's time the new government not only sped up the decision-making process, but ensured it delivered high-quality decisions that offer people the protection they seek."

Migrant Help, a UK-based charity supporting people seeking asylum, said: "Every loss of life during the asylum process is a devastating tragedy.

"People who have often escaped unimaginable trauma and undergone treacherous journeys to seek sanctuary in the UK deserve the support and security they need while waiting for their application to be processed."

The data, extracted in October, runs up to the end of June of this year - the last reportable period in line with published immigration statistics at the time of the FOI.

Deaths in the English Channel

It comes as Sky News can further reveal following a separate FOI request that 2024 saw as many migrant deaths in the English Channel as the four previous years combined.

While 67 people died up to 8 November this year, 56 people died across 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

These were mostly in 2021, with 34 deaths - while there were four deaths in 2022 and 12 in 2023.

The majority of the deaths took place on the French side of the Channel, and as such the figures are not UK government data.

According to data from Migration Watch, a thinktank that monitors migration flows to and from the UK, while 2024 will finish with more small boat crossings than 2023, 2021, and 2020, it will have around 10,000 fewer crossings than 2022.

Charity Refugee Action claimed "hostile border policies" had forced people to take increasingly dangerous routes to reach the UK - like the English Channel - and this "ultimately" led to more people losing their lives.

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Small boat crossings and immigration remain one of the key political topics, as the government battles to control surging numbers post-Brexit.

In an announcement earlier this month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer outlined a series of milestones to judge his government but didn't include one on immigration.

This is despite over 20,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats since Labour won the election this summer.

The government has previously said it is targeting smuggling gangs responsible for the crossings.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families and friends of those who have died.

"This government has restarted processing asylum claims which were stuck in an inherited backlog."

(c) Sky News 2024: At least 270 people have died in UK awaiting asylum application decisions since 2015, figure