Tories accused of 'Brexit betrayal' as UK spending on asylum seekers soars by £500m
EXCLUSIVE: Foreign Office spending 'on support to refugees or asylum seekers in the UK or other donor countries' topped £4bn last year.
The UK increased its spending by £500m to "support" refugees and asylum seekers from 2022 to 2023, according to new Foreign Office figures.
That means in total, the Foreign Office (FCDO) spent more than £4billion on refugees and asylum seekers "in the UK or other donor countries" last year.
Despite vowing to "stop the boats" and reduce Britain's spending on the asylum crisis, the new report reveals that under Rishi Sunak the taxpayer was forking out even more to support migrants in the UK and abroad.
Noel Willcox, a Reform UK candidate at the recent General Election, lashed out at the increased outlay, arguing it was evidence of "Brexit betrayal".
He told Express.co.uk: "Why is it that we’re looking after foreign refugees and we’re allocating budgets of substantial amounts of taxpayers' money [to do so]?
"There’s no mandate to do it. The British people have not voted for this.
"Why are we not allocating these sorts of budgets to helping veterans? It is just another Brexit betrayal and as far as I’m concerned, we just haven't had Brexit - Brexit has just not been delivered."
Although the increase in asylum seeker spending went up under the previous Tory administration, Mr Willcox took aim at the current Labour administration too: "And the Labour government is certainly not going to deliver on a mandate of Brexit.
"I think that they’re going to try and take us in through the back door."
Sir Keir Starmer has spoken of his desire to "reset" the UK's relationship with the European Union but has stated that does not mean going back into the political union.
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The UK's increased outlay may raise eyebrows, but in comparison to what some European partners have spent on handling the migration crisis, Britain's spend is relatively paltry.
For example, in 2023, Germany spent nearly £25billion on supporting asylum seekers, according to Statista.
According to official federal figures, the German government expects to spend just shy of £20bn a year on asylum seekers until 2027. However, it expects the outlay to clear £20bn again by 2028.
Express.co.uk has approached the Conservative Party for comment.