Nearly 1,000 free hijabs have been handed out to small boat migrants so far this year, according to new figures, prompting Conservative criticism that it is an insult to hard-working British taxpayers.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has called on the Government to immediately stop providing the head coverings to migrants crossing the Channel on dinghies.
Home Office figures reveal scale of handout
Home Office documents, revealed by The Mail on Sunday, show 974 hijabs were given to small boat asylum seekers between January and June this year. The total is likely to be close to 1,500 now, based on the rate of 162 a month.
The Home Office has insisted it has a legal duty to provide the headwear, worn by Muslim women and girls.
Tory criticism and political pressure
Philp told The Mail on Sunday: "It's an insult to hard-working British taxpayers that they're funding religious items for people who have broken into our country. It should not be for us to fund someone else's religious practices."
He added: "Many illegal immigrants actually hate our values. Many come here for free accommodation and a life on benefits at our expense. Illegal immigrants crossing the channel are breaking into our country. They have no legitimate reason to flee France, which is clearly safe. That's why we must leave the European Convention on Human Rights so we can deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival."
Crossing numbers and policy changes
More than 19,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, down 42% compared to the same point last year. Earlier this week, it was confirmed the "one in, one out" migrant deal with France has been scrapped. The Home Office said the pilot scheme is "no longer processing new cases", after France reportedly demanded a Europe-wide deal instead.
Under the scheme, people who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel could be detained and returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers who applied through a safe and legal route. Some 1,500 asylum seekers had been deported as of October 1, while slightly fewer than that came to Britain from France, it is understood. Deportation flights will continue in the coming weeks for those who have already been detained.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We have made progress tackling the small boats. Crossings are down significantly. We have just recorded the fewest summer arrivals since 2020."
