A petition calling for the end of financial support for asylum seekers has passed another major milestone. The online document set up by Bob Clements has been signed by more than 402,332 at the time of writing. It called for “a cessation of financial and other support provided to asylum seekers by the Government”. Mr Clements added: “This support currently includes shelter, food, medical care (including optical and dental), and cash support. I believe that such provisions may inadvertently incentivise illegal migration, particularly via the English Channel. This petition is to urge the Government to discontinue these support measures and payments.”

Every petition signed by at least 100,000 people is considered for debate by MPs. According to Parliament’s website, Mr Clements’ has been waiting 35 days for a debate date. The Government responds to those with 10,000 supporters or more. In this case, the Government said there is “a legal requirement to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be living on the streets“. But it added that ministers are “determined to tackle illegal migration and end the use of asylum hotels“.

Keir Starmer is hoping to reach a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron over migrants. (Image: Getty)

A spokesperson also said the Government are “grateful to everyone who took the time to sign this petition”.

They added: “The petition proposes ending that support immediately, and while we understand the objective behind that proposal, we have to recognise that – in many cases – the people currently receiving that support would end up living on the street instead, including many women and children.

“According to the latest official data, the number of rough sleepers in England in autumn 2024 was 4,667, so if we immediately ended the support given to every asylum-seeker, it would increase that number by multiple amounts.”

The Government also said: “We believe a better approach is to continue speeding up the processing of asylum claims, so that people who are genuine refugees can be accepted, those who are not can be rejected and removed, and either way, we can keep working to cut the amount of money spent on asylum support.”

Asylum seekers are being housed in hotels. (Image: Getty)

“In addition, we will continue taking strong action to reduce the number of people entering the UK asylum system in the first place.”

Earlier today, French President Emmanuel Macron promised “concrete, effective and lasting” co-operation on migration as he arrived in the UK.

He said: “Together, we will address the major challenges of our time: security, defence, nuclear energy, space, innovation, artificial intelligence, migration, and culture.

“These are all areas in which we seek to act together and deepen our co-operation in a concrete, effective, and lasting way.”

Sir Keir Starmer hopes a so-called “one in, one out” deal to exchange Channel migrants for asylum seekers in Europe who have a British link can be reached.

Last week, more than 20,000 migrants made the crossing from France to the UK, the fastest time that figure has been reached in a year.