Every asylum claim lodged in Britain hits the taxpayer with an £18,700 bill, astonishing new figures disclose.
The average sum includes the cost of providing accommodation and living costs, as well as the sums spent on processing claims and any legal appeals.
It will include Channel small boat arrivals who are housed in migrant hotels as well as less costly types of claimant, such as those who arrive legally on work or student visas and then claim asylum in a bid to remain in Britain.
