Asylum bill doubles to nearly £4bn as Sunak says cost is 'unacceptable

The taxpayer bill on asylum almost doubled in a year to nearly £4bn as Rishi Sunak said the cost was "unacceptable" and warned the system is under "unsustainable pressure".

Home Office spending on asylum rose by £1.85bn, from £2.12bn in 2021/22 to £3.97bn this year.

A decade ago, in 2012/13, the total cost to the taxpayer was £500.2m.