Hotel migrants 'handed £600 taxi rides for NHS check-ups' and brazenly admit to working illegally in Britain
WATCH: Alex Armstrong and his panel react to reports hotel migrants are 'handed £600 taxi rides for NHS check-ups'
|GB NEWS
Last year, asylum support cost British taxpayers £4.67billion - more than 10 times the figure just a decade earlier
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A hotel migrant has admitted he has been sent to NHS check-ups in taxis costing hundreds of pounds to the taxpayer, while others admitted to working illegally in the UK.
One case involved an Iraqi man, whose asylum claim was rejected, being taken on a 250-mile, £600 trip in a taxi for a knee appointment.
Using the pseudonym "Kadir", he told the BBC about his experience after the broadcaster gained access to numerous asylum hotels.
Kadir claimed he would have preferred to travel to the appointment by train, but was given "no choice" by the Home Office which had set up the transport.
Migrants are often treated by the same NHS doctor - even if they have been transferred to a different hotel.
Having been told by the driver that the round-trip would cost £600, Kadir said: "Should the Home Office give me the ticket for the train?
"This is the easy way, and they know they spend too much money."
In the year 2024-25, asylum support cost the taxpayer £4.67billion
|GETTY
He added: "We know as well, but we don't have any choice. It's crazy."
It is understood the taxis were booked by an "automated system" at the hotel front desk, and the migrants were not given the option to walk or take public transport.
Kadir lives with his wife and three children in an unnamed hotel, taking up two taxpayer-funded rooms.
He claims to have worked as a translator in his home country before he said he was targeted by criminals.
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However, his asylum claim, and two subsequent appeals, have all been rejected by the Home Office due to lack of proof.
His third appeal is currently underway.
Other migrants boldly admitted to working illegally in the UK, including Mohammed, from Afghanistan, who had organised a job for himself before he even arrived in the country.
He did this through the use of contacts from his cousin, who was also working illegally in Britain.
Migrants continue to make the crossing from France to land on Britain's shores
| PAMohammed from Afghanistan organised a job for himself before he even arrived in the country
| GB NEWSHe said his shifts last 10 hours and earn him £20, however he claims he has no choice because his family owes money to people-traffickers.
One hotel security guard said: "You've got nothing to occupy these guys, so of course they're going to go out there and work."
The contractor used by the Home Office, Clearsprings Ready Homes, paid nearly £350,000 a month for 6,000 taxi journeys with one company, The Sun reported.
Reform UK chairman Dr David Bull said: "If you live here and pay taxes, it's difficult to see a GP in the first instance.
"But asylum seekers seem to have fast-track access."
After the claims emerged, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood demanded officials "urgently look into" the use of taxis.
In the year 2024-25, asylum support cost the taxpayer £4.67billion, which was down from £5.38billion the year before.
But just a decade ago, the figure was less than £475million a year.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The Home Secretary has asked the department to urgently look into the use of taxis to transfer asylum seekers."
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