Rachel Reeves announces plans for thousands of migrants after promising to END asylum hotels: ‘The right thing to do’

GB News’s Home and Security Editor Mark White says that will mean 38,000 migrants are in those hotels with the vast majority here illegally.

Reeves told GB News the Government will seek to deport those who have no right to be in Britain rather than find other ways to house them.

Speaking to Christopher Hope, she said: “I want to deport anyone who hasn’t got a right to be in this country.

“We have increased deportations substantially since we came to office and that is the right thing to do.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• ‘Not a cat in hell’s chance!’ Reform's Richard Tice rips into Rachel Reeves’s asylum hotel promise
• Savers warned ISA shake up 'in the pipeline' as Rachel Reeves eyes 'devastating tax hikes' in Autumn
• Christopher Hope reveals his 'takeaways' from Labour's Spending Review and warns of 'new concern'

“If people don’t have a right to be in this country, they should be sent back home.”

Christopher asked whether the plan is to relocate migrants from the numerous asylum hotels that have appeared across the country into community flats, a move that many fear could heighten local tensions and lead to incidents similar to those recently witnessed in Ballymena.

“The idea is to deport anybody who does not have a right to be in this country”, she said.

“That is how we can make the commitment today to end the use of asylum hotels in this Parliament.”

MORE ON TODAY'S SPENDING REVIEW: Nigel Farage looks stunned by jibe as Rachel Reeves mocks Reform UK leader in the House of Commons

Revealing her plans in the Commons today, Reeves told MPs: "I can confirm today that led by the work of my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, we will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament.”

She described the decision as "the Labour choice" and "the choice of the British people", adding that funding would be used to cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people with no right to remain in the UK.

The Government spent £3.1 billion on housing asylum seekers in hotels during 2023-24, out of a total asylum support bill of £4.7 billion.

The Chancellor also announced additional funding of up to £280 million per year for the Border Security Command by the end of the spending review period.

READ MORE: Rachel Reeves rules out higher taxes for 'working people' but 'further rises could come in' soon

This follows an initial £150 million to establish the unit last year, which leads the UK's strategy to tackle people smuggling and small boat crossings.

The announcements came as Channel crossings continued on Wednesday, with new arrivals photographed being brought to shore in Dover.

The provisional total for 2025 has reached 14,812 arrivals in the first five months, surpassing the previous record of 13,489 for the first six months of any year.

The Home Office budget will fall by 2.2 per cent in real terms over the coming years, from £22 billion in the current financial year to £22.3 billion in 2028-29, according to the Spending Review document.

Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle told MPs on Tuesday that the department is piloting alternative accommodation methods ahead of major contract break clauses next year.

One proposal involves moving asylum seekers from hotels to medium-sized sites such as former tower blocks and student accommodation.

Mihnea Cuibus from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford suggested that a "stubbornly high" backlog of asylum appeals presents a challenge for Labour's plans to end hotel use.

Earlier this week, Downing Street denied claims that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was on "resignation watch" following heated budget discussions with the Chancellor.

Speaking to GB News about her relationship with the Home Secretary, she admitted talks regarding Government spending had been robust.

“All of these conversations are difficult conversations. We haven’t been able to do everything everyone wants”, she said.

“There is substantial new money in this spending review. Day to day spending will grow by 2.3 per cent a year on average, as well as investment on transport, defence and nuclear energy.”