It's been a weekend marked by division.
>> Shame on you.
>> Protests and counterprotests have taken
place across the country, sparked by the
use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
With pressure on the government growing,
ministers are set to unveil a
fast-tracked asylum appeals process.
At least 51,000 asylum appeals are still
waiting to be heard with the average
wait time now 53 weeks.
Under plans, these cases will be heard
by a new independent body overseen by
adjudicators rather than judges. This
new body will have statutory powers to
prioritize cases from those in asylum
accommodation and foreign national
offenders.
Home office hope this will reduce the
backlog and speed up the returns
process. But the department is still
reeling from the decision by the high
court to block one hotel in Essex from
housing asylum seekers. With other
councils now considering legal action,
the Conservatives say ministers need to
tackle the root causes of the asylum
backlog.
>> We need to put people in different
settings. But the reality is we need to
stop people arriving in the first place.
We need to stop being the soft touch. We
need to look at what is attracting them.
And actually, people need to know if
they come here illegally, they're going
home.
>> Campaigners argue a shakeup of asylum
appeals is long overdue.
>> The fastest way of uh speeding up the
appeal system and taking people out of
hotels is uh for the government to get
uh decisions right first time. Uh at the
moment, half of cases that go to appeal
are overturned. And we're really worried
uh that as long as hotels remain open,
there'll be a hot spot uh for farright
activity. Uh and that's dividing
communities.
>> The government will outline more detail
in the autumn. In the meantime,
officials are braced for yet more
protests. Jasmine Cameron Cheshi ICV.