内容摘要：Those the words of a senior figure from the last Conservative government.

Those the words of a senior figure from the last Conservative government.

The asylum process determines whether a person can remain in the UK because they have a "well-founded fear of persecution" in their home country.Since 2020, the government has been increasingly reliant on hotels, partly because the supply of other types of asylum accommodation has not kept up with the numbers arriving in small boats.

But using asylum hotels is expensive -As of 20 May, 12,748 people had arrived in the UK in small boats - up by nearly a third compared with this time last year.To reduce the number of crossings, the government has pledged to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs behind them.

But it is unclear how the government plans to measure its progress, or when the goal will be met.The Home Office told us data on actions taken by officials to disrupt criminal gangs was "being collected and may be published in the future".

There is some information on efforts to prevent small boat crossings by French authorities - who, under a 2023 deal, are receiving £476m from the UK over three years.

They say about 24,791 people were prevented from crossing between July 2024 and May 2025. We do not know what happened to them or whether they tried to cross again.Trump later warned the concession could be short lived.

On 23 May, the president threatened to impose a 25% import tax "at least" on Apple iPhones not manufactured in America.On 4 May, Trump said

The UK and the US have reached a narrow agreement over tariffs on some goods traded between the countries., mainly cars, machinery and pharmaceuticals.