The number of people applying for asylum in the UK has risen, according to Home Office figures.

Statistics for the three months between July and September showed the number of principal asylum applications was 5,850 - up slightly on the previous quarter.


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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6168498.stm



From the Office of National Statistics.


There were 5,850 applications for asylum in the UK in the third quarter of 2006 (July to September). This was 7 per cent higher than the previous quarter but was 7 per cent less than the third quarter of 2005. The top five applicant nationalities were Eritrean, Afghan, Iranian, Chinese and Somali.

Including dependants, there were 7,105 asylum applications in the third quarter, 11 per cent higher than the previous quarter. This compares with an increase of 6 per cent in the rest of the EU15 (excluding Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy and the UK).


http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=261