The UK's asylum appeals backlog has reached a record high, almost doubling in size  in almost a year, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Thursday.

There were 80,333 appeals waiting to be heard at the end of 2025, up from 41,987 a year earlier and the average waiting time for an asylum appeal was 63 weeks, up from 48 weeks in 2024.

The rise coincides with Labour's first full year in government, threatening to undermine a key manifesto pledge to restore order to the asylum system and end the use of hotels.

Pressure has mounted on ministers to address the backlog as thousands of people awaiting decisions are placed in temporary accommodation including hotels.

Home Office figures show 30,657 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels at the end of December while awaiting decisions.

Experts have warned that the rising number of appeals could make it harder for the government to meet its pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by the close of this Parliament in 2029.

An asylum appeal can relate to more than one person and The Refugee Council estimates the 80,333 outstanding appeals correspond to more than 100,000 people once family members are factored in.

Director of affairs Imran Hussain told the PA news agency that delays were leaving many "stuck" in asylum accommodation for months on end, "unable to work or rebuild their lives, at huge cost to the public purse".

Statistics published at the end of last year found that the backlog of asylum appeals was higher for the first time on record than the backlog of cases waiting for an initial decision.

Some 100,625 people claimed asylum in the year to December and 41% of these arrived by small boats, according to Home Office figures published in February.

Connor Naismith says the use of the Crewe Arms Hotel by them would stop from the end of April.

Omot Otor was one of a group of refugees who attended a protest against rule changes in London.

Developers say the improvements are designed to bring the hotel up to modern standards.

The council that took action against The Bell Hotel says court costs were "completely unfair".

An application to house Afghans who worked with British personnel is pulled.