Rishi Sunak has set out a five-point plan to tackle the migration crisis as the Tories attempt to regain trust with the public over immigration.

Setting out the plan in the Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister said “unless we act now, and decisively, this will only get worse”.

Among a raft of new measures, he told MPs “we expect to abolish the backlog of initial asylum decisions by the end of next year” after hiring more caseworkers and overhauling the system for processing applications.

The latest published Home Office figures show in the year to September there were more than 143,000 asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claims, with nearly 100,000 waiting more than six months.

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London, where he announced plans to tackle the asylum backlog and Channel crossings. Picture date: Tuesday December 13, 2022. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Migrants. Photo credit should read: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire

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But within hours Downing Street appeared to downgrade the target, insisting the Prime Minister had only committed to clearing the backlog of claims made before June.

The spokesman could not give a deadline to tackle all the claims, nor could he give a figure for a planned quota for asylum seekers.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The Prime Minister doesn’t even know what he’s promised today.

“This claim to be able to tackle the backlog by the end of the year is already falling apart just hours after he made it.

“No one trusts the Conservatives to fix the asylum system they’ve broken over the last 12 years.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer dismissed the proposals as “unworkable gimmicks”, instead arguing that his party would offer “serious solutions”.

It comes as a new poll yesterday suggested that Labour is heading for a landslide victory at the next election, with the Conservatives being left with only 69 seats.

The work by Sevanta predicted Sir Keir Starmer would win 482 seats, giving Labour a 314 seat majority.

This would see Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson all lose their seats.

Mr Sunak’s plans will also include a new unit to monitor Channel crossings will bring together military, civilian staff and the National Crime Agency (NCA), with 700 staff.

There are plans to house 10,000 asylum seekers in disused holiday parks, former student halls and surplus military sites instead of using hotels.

Human rights organisations have accused the Government of treating asylum seekers like criminals, following the announcement.

Therapy charity Freedom From Torture said the new policies, announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, risked sending refugees back to “unimaginable horrors”.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director, said that Mr Sunak’s Government has “wrecked” the asylum system.

“The Prime Minister’s statement on asylum makes clear that he either doesn’t have a clue or frankly does not care,” he said.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Without safe routes they have no choice but to take dangerous journeys.

“The Prime Minister failed to set out any concrete plans to expand these routes through a resettlement programme or an expansion in family reunion visas.

“Instead this Government wants to treat people who come to the UK in search of safety as illegal criminals.”

The Government was yesterday also told to vest out a visa to encourage migrants to live and work in rural areas of the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which briefs ministers on immigration policy, said migrants continue to be drawn to London over other regions of the UK and recommended a pilot of a “rural visa” to see if this would help “counteract depopulation” in countryside areas.

This could potentially help fill vacancies in agriculture, possible attracting more seasonal farm workers, as well as in fishing and hospitality – particularly cleaners, bar and waiting staff.

Sunak sets out plan to tackle migrant crisis as Tories lag behind in polls