But the figure is 8% higher than when Labour took office – despite repeated pledges to end the scandal.

And the number living in “dispersal accommodation” – houses, flats and bedsits – has fallen slightly from 66,683 to 66,234

Councils across the country are considering mounting legal challenges against Labour’s use of hotels, leaving Yvette Cooper’s accommodation plans in tatters. Labour town halls are amongst those revolting.

It comes as Home Office asylum accommodation providers issued an urgent appeal for 5,000 properties to house 20,000 migrants.

Sources suggested each flat would have two bedrooms on average, with space to house four migrants.

Tory MP Nick Timothy, who was also Theresa May’s special adviser, said: “It’s no surprise that Channel crossings are up – by almost 50 per cent – under Labour.

“And the court injunction won by the Conservative council in Epping, which stops a local hotel being used to house migrants, throws the Government’s policy into further chaos.

“But while the injunction is undoubtedly a clear victory for the local residents – vilified as “far Right” by those who should know better – it may yet mean more trouble for communities affected by “asylum dispersal”.

“Those hoping for a policy of detention and deportation will soon be disappointed. Human rights laws can prevent deportation, and Labour reject automatic deportation for those who cross the Channel. So the migrants will still end up housed in towns and cities across the country.

“There are already more than twice as many migrants in private housing, including houses of multiple occupancy, than in hotels. And accommodation like this may suit a government as cynical as this one better than hotels.

“Individual houses provide less of a focal point for protest than hotels, and the Home Office, working with Serco, has been building up its property portfolio for some time.”

Ministers have set aside £500m to invest in a “new, more sustainable accommodation model” as they scramble to close migrant hotels.

Officials insist this will be “developed in consultation with local authorities”.

This “basic” accommodation, under the new cross-Government model, will be “used on a temporary basis” to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed.

Under one proposal, the Government could pay councils to buy or renovate properties.

Former student accommodation, abandoned care homes, empty tower blocks and converted houses and flats could also be used to house asylum seekers.Labour wants to close every migrant hotel within four years – but the number being used has increased since the General Election.

A report by The Migration Observatory found 84% of local authorities now have asylum accommodation.

By contrast, just one in hour hosted asylum seekers in 2014, highlighting the pressure many communities are now under.

Researchers claimed it costs taxpayers £170 a night for migrants to stay in hotel rooms, down from £176 in 2023/24.

And council chiefs are being offered support to mount legal challenges against migrant hotels.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has written to local authorities urging them to explore planning laws and apply for injunctions to close asylum hotels.

And Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick called for barristers to “join the flight” and work with “patriotic” councils and community groups calling for an end to the scandal, which is costing £5.77million a day.

Ministers are braced for a surge in legal challenges from councils after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to prevent asylum seekers being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.

Mrs Badenoch said: “In the case of Epping, this challenge was brought under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

“I am encouraging Conservative council leaders to take the same steps if your legal advice supports it.

“Of course, when councils make planning decisions it is important that due process is followed, and decisions by planning councillors should be made with an open mind.

“Whether or not a particular premises requires change of use planning permission will depend on individual circumstances of the case. But it is the Labour Government which is trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation and without proper process.

“They are treating local residents and local councils with contempt. You may also wish to take formal advice from planning officers on the other planning enforcement options available to your council in relation to unauthorised development or change of use.”

Mr Jenrick said: “Every patriotic council, whether Conservative, Reform, whatever, should follow Epping’s lead and seek an injunction.

“And if you are a council or a community group and you need our help, contact my office. If you’re a lawyer and you want to join the fight, contact me. Let’s create a new movement, Lawyers for Borders.

“We have to work together. Our country is in a mess.

“We need to put as much pressure as possible on Keir Starmer to change the law, to deport every single illegal migrant who’s here, and to close all the hotels.”

Barrister Steven Barrett became the first to back Mr Jenrick’s campaign, declaring on social media: “I will be supporting Lawyers for Borders.

“Laws and rules are borders – they keep us safe.

“For too long the people, all the people of this beautiful country, have been betrayed.

“No more.”

Security minister Dan Jarvis admitted ministers were drawing up emergency plans to house asylum seekers in case migrant hotels were ordered to close.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called on ministers to house migrants on former military bases and asylum barges, like the Bibby Stockholm.

And Mr Philp demanded Home Secretary Ms Cooper call an emergency cabinet meeting to draw up plans to deport “every illegal immigration upon arrival”.

He told the Daily Express: “Illegal immigrants who have entered the UK should not be put up in hotels that many Brits couldn’t afford to stay in.

“Every illegal immigrant should instead be immediately deported upon arrival – either back to their country of origin or to a third country like Rwanda.

“This would mean repealing the Human Rights Act for immigration matters. We Conservatives even tabled this approach in Parliament a few weeks ago, but Labour voted against it.

“In the meantime, I do not think hotels should be used.

“Instead, former military sites or barges such as the Bibby Stockholm are much more suitable for accommodating illegal immigrants than expensive hotels costing hard-pressed British taxpayers billions a year.”

Former Home Office minister Damian Green said the Government should “go back to the idea of camps”.

Mr Green, who lost his seat in the general election last year, told the World At One: “What they should now do is actually toughen up the accommodation that we offer people to make it clear that it’s a deterrent as much as anything.

“So, go back to the idea of camps, whether purpose-built Nightingale Hospital-style buildings on parts of the land that the Government owns, or using existing military camps, all those sorts of things, so that is not seen as offensively luxurious by the people who have watched this happen in their communities over the past few years.”

When he was asked about the “difficulties” that have been run into when this has been attempted before, for example at Napier barracks, RAF Scampton, Wethersfield and the Penally camp, he said: “Some of them were genuine, some of them weren’t.

“A lot of the problems are indeed legal problems, where the courts say you can’t keep people there. And I do think the Government is going to have to confront the legal issue if they want to be effective in having a deterrent.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s asylum nightmare intensified on Wednesday as Labour council chiefs confirmed they are amongst those considering legal action.

Tamworth council said it would look to challenge the use of the Holiday Inn Express in the town, which was a focus of violent disorder during the Southport riots last summer.

Labour councillor Carol Dean, leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said the council did explore similar legal avenues when the Home Office first started using the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth to house asylum seekers, but did not end up pursuing them.

She said: “I want to be transparent with our community – when the Home Office first began using the hotel in 2022, we did explore similar legal avenues. However, we did not pursue this route at the time because temporary injunctions, while initially granted in other cases nationally, were not ultimately upheld by the courts.

“The situation at Epping Forest represents a potentially important legal precedent, and we are carefully assessing what this might mean for our circumstances here in Tamworth.”

Cllr Paula Basnett, the leader of Labour-ran Wirral council, said: “Like many other local authorities, we have concerns about the Home Office’s practice of placing asylum seekers in hotels without consultation or regard to local planning requirements.

“We are actively considering all options available to us to ensure that any use of hotels or other premises in Wirral is lawful and does not ride roughshod over planning regulations or the wishes of our communities.

“If necessary, we will not hesitate to challenge such decisions in order to protect both residents and those seeking refuge.”