Record £6.5m legal aid bill as asylum seekers fight to stay here

TAXPAYERS were last year hit with a record £6.5million bill to fund legal aid for asylum seekers and immigrants fighting to remain in Scotland.

Much of the money was spent on genuine asylum seekers who wish to stay north of the Border because their home countries are too dangerous to return to.

However, thousands of pounds of public cash was also spent on helping violent criminals, including sex offenders.

In total, nearly 10,000 cases cost the public purse £6.5 million in 2016-17 – £500,000 more than in the previous financial year.

This is more than seven times the amount of money spent on such cases 15 years ago, when it cost taxpayers £855,000. And it is a 100-fold increase on the number of cases that existed in 2004.

The figures have raised fresh concerns over the cost of the UK’s asylum and immigration system – and last night politicians warned it was being ‘abused’ by ‘dangerous criminals’.

The figures also strengthen the case for stronger immigration controls after Brexit to stop those with criminal records settling in the UK claiming their human rights under European law would be breached if they were sent home.

Scottish Conservative legal affairs spokesman Gordon Lindhurst said: ‘It’s essential we respect the legal rights of those who are legitimately seeking asylum in Scotland. But we cannot let the system be abused, and people will be astonished at the sheer amount involved here.

‘Dangerous criminals cannot be allowed to play the legal aid system with every trick they know to remain here illegally.’

The most recent figures from the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) show the number of grants for legal advice and representation in asylum and immigration cases rose from 8,983 to 9,530 between 2015-16 and 201617. The cost of these cases over the same period rose by half a million pounds, from £6 million to a record £6.5 million, while the overall expenditure on civil legal assistance decreased from £40 million to £35 million.

A large number of dangerous criminals have received legal aid to resist deportation. Such legal battles often involve repeated and long appeals, which frequently fail – sometimes costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds for an individual case.

Chinese national Yehao Yan – an illegal immigrant who was jailed in 2008 for drug offences, money laundering and fraud – claimed £22,000 in legal aid to help him avoid deportation.

The 35-year-old was freed from prison in 2012 and used human rights legislation to try to dodge deportation, arguing his right to ‘family life’ meant he should not be sent home to China. He was caught running a cannabis network and is again behind bars.

A SLAB spokesman said: ‘Any asylum and immigration application for civil legal assistance must meet the statutory eligibility tests. We focus on achieving best value for the public funds available to those eligible for assistance.’

‘We cannot let the system be abused’