| The number of people applying for asylum in the UK last year dropped by over 2,000 to 23,610, the lowest level since 1993 according to government figures. The drop, which mirrors an 18 percent drop across the European Union as a whole, was welcomed by the government as a success of the country’s “stronger border controls”. “We said we would double resources for immigration policing and last year we delivered record removals of those still in Britain illegally—with one being deported every eight minutes,” said Home Office Minister Tony McNulty. He said the government is speeding up plans to tighten border security further, saying that in the next 12 months, “a single border force, fingerprint checks for all visa applicants, ID cards for foreign nationals, electronic passenger screening and Australian-style points system” would be introduced. |