Policy and people
Migration news
Today’s migration stories from 6 publishers, with their claims checked against official figures.
Updated 30 Oct20 stories · 5 fact checks
Labour to use £150MILLION of taxpayers' money to 'fund additional large sites to accommodate asylum seekers' (opens GB News in a new tab)
ContextHome Office85,891 people claimed asylum in the year to June. 40% had arrived by small boat
Volunteer, 78, says Reform official likened her to Nazi collaborator for teaching asylum seekers English (opens The Guardian in a new tab)
'He’s wrong!' Nigel Farage fumes at Andy Burnham over 'misleading' small boat Brexit blame game (opens GB News in a new tab)
ContextHome Office33,374 small-boat arrivals in the year to June, down 23%Fact checks
Claims from the news, tested against official figures. We recheck every source daily.
Differs from the source
- They said
- 60% more
- Source says
- About the same
Matches the source
- They said
- The largest
- Source says
- Ranked first
Matches the source
- They said
- Around 33,000
- Source says
- 33,374
Matches the source
- They said
- 40%
- Source says
- 40%
Matches the source
- They said
- Around 32,400 cases
- Source says
- 32,401 cases
The news quiz
Five questions from this week’s migration stories. Each answer is a fact check. Can you get all five?
About a minute. Your score stays on your device.
Question 1 of 5Small boats
Small-boat arrivals in the year to June 2026, compared with the year before. Were they…
The numbers to know
Different counts that can overlap. Never add them together.
Net migrationONS · 2025, first estimate171,000People who moved to the UK for a year or more, minus those who left.Asylum claimsHome Office · year to June 202685,891People who claimed asylum, main applicants and dependants.Small-boat arrivalsHome Office · year to June 202633,374People detected arriving in the UK by small boat.Asylum cases waitingHome Office · end of June 202632,401Cases waiting for a first decision. One case can cover several people.
More stories
From Full Fact, GB News, The Guardian, GOV.UK, BBC News and House of Commons Library. Headlines open on the publisher’s site.
Viral video doesn’t show zombie knives delivery to ‘migrant hotel’ (opens Full Fact in a new tab)
Andy Burnham makes incorrect claim about Robert Jenrick’s small boats record (opens Full Fact in a new tab)
Sadiq Khan joins migration revolt against Shabana Mahmood after PM undermines Home Secretary on small boats (opens GB News in a new tab)
Labour MP calls on colleagues to end infighting and back Home Secretary’s immigration plan (opens GB News in a new tab)
Small boat activity in the English Channel (opens GOV.UK in a new tab)
Viral image of French woman with ‘refugees welcome here’ sign has been edited (opens Full Fact in a new tab)
Shabana Mahmood urged to ‘read the room’ on Labour opposition to immigration policy (opens The Guardian in a new tab)
Home Office lifts deportation order for man, 62, who has lived in UK for 50 years (opens The Guardian in a new tab)
Track UK’s latest migration numbers - net migration, visas, asylum and small boats (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Eritrea accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘political gimmick’ over visa ban threat (opens The Guardian in a new tab)
Repressive, secretive and highly militarised: Eritrea, the east African country facing UK visa ban threat (opens The Guardian in a new tab)
