§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees have sought to enter the UK from(a) Iran, (b) Iraq and (c) Afghanistan since January; and if he will make a statement.[8054]
§ Angela EagleIt is not possible to provide information on how many refugees have sought to enter the United Kingdom in any given period, because some refugees arrive clandestinely and subsequently claim asylum in-country rather than claiming on arrival at United Kingdom ports, and because not all attempts to enter the United Kingdom are successful. Information on the numbers of applications for asylum to the United Kingdom in 2001 from nationals of Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan is provided in the table.
Applications for asylum to the UK from nationals of Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, by location where made, January-July 2001 Port In-country Total Afghanistan January 185 325 510 February 310 305 615 March 470 210 680 April 500 200 700 May 560 335 900 June 655 255 910 July 550 260 810 Total 3,230 1,890 5,120 Iran January 155 430 585 February 105 255 355 March 110 180 295 April 100 195 295 May 70 135 205 June 65 130 200 July 105 135 245 Total 715 1,460 2,175 Iraq January 185 570 755 February 230 475 710 March 215 215 425 April 155 140 295 May 175 160 340 June 205 240 440 July 340 240 580 Total 1,500 2,045 3,545 Note
All data are provisional, exclude dependants, and are rounded to nearest 5.