Over 4,300 aslylum claims lodged in July, highest since 2009, but figures remain modest compared to highest in EU
The Press Association reported last week that the number of people claiming asylum in the UK in July was the highest for more than six years.
Image credit: UK GovernmentAccording to the Press Association, a total of 4,305 asylum claims were lodged in July, the largest monthly tally in any single month since comparable records began in January 2009 and only the second month since 2009 when claims topped 4,000.
The Press Association used the European Union's Eurostat statistics for its analysis.
The Eurostat figures show that the UK had the fourth highest number of asylum claims in July, albeit a long way behind the top two of Germany (37,525) and Hungary (31,285). Sweden was third with 8,060.
The Times says that it is a sign that applications are being driven by the migration crisis that has involved huge movements from Syria, Libya and elsewhere.
The Refugee Council's Anna Musgrave told the Press Association: "It's important to put these figures in perspective: more refugees arrive in Greece in a single day than have claimed asylum in Britain in a whole month."
"As a global leader, Britain should be stepping forward to offer to help protect a greater number of the world's refugees."
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported on Sunday that Peter Sutherland, the United Nations Special Representative on Migration, said he was "sickened" by the conditions in the so-called "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais.
Sutherland called on both the French and British governments to do more.
The Guardian quoted him as saying: "I was horrified by the place. It is absolutely shocking, and while the primary responsibility is held by the French because it is in France, there should be a shared responsibility … You would think both governments would work together to solve this – after all, it is only 3,000 people, it should not be above redemption."
"You could set up an immediate system for assessing how many of these people are refugees. You could do it in a very short time and you could do it as a joint responsibility."
Sutherland dismissed the idea that treating the migrants and refugees in Calais humanely would act as a significant pull factor, saying: "This stuff about pull factors … I am sick of it. It is sickening that people are using that as an excuse to leave people living in absolute squalor."