Asylum seekers in England and Wales are up to seven times more likely to be arrested on the railway network than the general population, according to official figures obtained by the Daily Mail.
Shocking Disparity in Arrest Rates
The statistics, released by the British Transport Police (BTP) under a Freedom of Information request, show a stark contrast. For every 10,000 asylum seekers, there were 7.88 arrests on Britain's railways in the year to November 2025. The equivalent rate for the rest of the population was just 1.07 arrests per 10,000 people.
In total, BTP officers arrested 81 asylum seekers in that period. For the wider population of England and Wales, estimated at 61.7 million, there were 6,619 arrests. The Home Office states there are approximately 103,000 asylum seekers currently being supported in the two nations, a figure used to calculate the arrest rate.
Political Reaction and High-Profile Cases
The figures have ignited fierce political debate. Ex-Reform MP and founder of the Restore Britain thinktank, Rupert Lowe, told the Daily Mail that the Conservatives and Labour were to blame for importing asylum seekers. He urged ministers to detain and deport every migrant who entered illegally and then "abolish the entire asylum system" to restore safety on transport.
The data follows several high-profile court cases involving asylum seekers on the rail network. In September, Hawre Mohamed, a 27-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker, was jailed for sexually assaulting a 20-year-old student on a Thameslink train after following her from Crawley station. CCTV footage showed him smirking and giving a thumbs-up before the attack.
In a separate incident in January, Karam Abdulkarim-Mohamed, a 30-year-old Sudanese migrant, assaulted two train guards at Reading railway station, punching one and spitting at the other after jumping a barrier.
Data Limitations and Expert Analysis
The BTP itself cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions from the data. A spokesperson highlighted that the nationality field was left blank in around 95% of all arrests in 2025, meaning the true rates could be different. They also noted that an arrest does not equate to guilt and that not all suspects are processed via arrest.
Academics at the respected Oxford Migration Observatory have previously suggested asylum seekers may be more likely to commit crimes. They cite factors including the demographic profile (often young men), the trauma of their journey, poor mental health, and socioeconomic status. However, available data cannot fully account for all these complex factors.
The Home Office's data shows that 95% of small boat arrivals apply for asylum. The most common nationalities for asylum applicants in the year to September 2025 were Pakistani, Eritrean, Iranian, Afghan, and Bangladeshi.
There have been growing calls for the Labour government to increase transparency on migrant crime, including publishing more detailed data—a promise made but not yet fulfilled since last April. Some advocate following the lead of Denmark and some US states by publishing league tables on crime rates by nationality.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
