A top refugee charity has demanded that migrants from Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan and Syria walk free on Britain's streets under a "one-off" mass release scheme from hotels.
With Labour under heavy pressure to close the hotels - and deport their inhabitants - the Refugee Council has tabled a new proposal to simply let the countries' migrants stay in the UK, albeit temporarily.
As a result, the charity says the hotels could be closed next year if the Government allows people from certain countries to stay under the "one-off scheme".
People given temporary permission to stay would be those likely to receive recognition as "refugees".
Under the proposal, asylum seekers from the five countries who were already in the asylum system at the end of June would be granted permission to stay in Britain - provided they passed certain security checks.
Nearly 32,917 asylum seekers from these countries were living in homes at taxpayers' expense by the end of June.
The charity warned the Government's previous timeline of closing the hotels by 2029 is 'unsustainable, costly and risks fuelling further community division'
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This is higher than the 32,059 who were accommodated in hotels in the same period.
Some 98 per cent of Sudanese and Syrians receive refugee status or humanitarian protection, while the rate is 60 per cent for Iranians and 86 per cent for Eritreans.
For Afghans, 39 per cent of those accommodated were granted asylum status, a sharp drop from the 96 per cent the previous year due to changes in Home Office guidance.
Under this proposed scheme, the Refugee Council believes the Government would be able to end the use of hotels in housing asylum seekers by March next year - with the people inside instead given jobs and homes across the country.
BRITAIN'S MIGRANT CRISIS - LATEST:
Some 32,059 asylum seekers were accommodated in hotels in the same period by the end of June
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The charity warned the Government's previous timeline of closing the hotels by the end of this Parliament in 2029 is "unsustainable, costly and risks fuelling further community division".
Its chief executive, Enver Solomon said: "A targeted, 'one-off' scheme focusing on cases from countries with high grant rates for asylum could end the use of hotels by 2026.
"As long as hotels remain open, they will continue to be flashpoints for far-right activity, fuelling tensions and driving communities apart.
"It is a failure of Government to keep people in a system that leaves them in limbo for months, at huge cost to the public purse."
Counter-protesters outside a migrant hotel in London had also accused those concerned over asylum seekers moving in of being "far-right" just days ago.
As a result, locals hit back to GB News - declaring they "were not far-right, but not far-wrong either".
The Bell Hotel in Epping has been the centre of demonstrations | PAAccording to the Refugee Council, the Government should implement the plan over the course of several months so that those granted permission have the time to secure a place to live and find an income.
The proposal also suggests the Government could use the Homes for Ukraine scheme as a base, and allow for asylum seekers to be housed by members of their community.
Last week, Epping Forest District Council won a temporary injunction in the High Court to stop asylum seekers being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex after weeks of protests.
Now, more councils are considering following suit and taking legal action, meaning the Government's need to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers is rapidly increasing.