An internal review by the Home Office has raised significant concerns about the accuracy of asylum approvals, revealing that nearly 80% of decisions in a sample were likely made with insufficient evidence. The quality assurance exercise, which examined 47 randomly selected asylum decisions from August and September 2025, found that 37 approvals were “likely to be incorrect,” according to the independent border inspection chief, John Tuckett.

In a 44-page report, Tuckett highlighted several systemic issues within the asylum decision-making process, noting that the findings pointed to broader deficiencies across the system. “Although this was only one limited exercise, if replicated across the system, these results suggested that the quality of asylum decision-making was not in a good state,” he said.

The review also revealed staff retention challenges, with 882 decision-makers having resigned, creating difficulties in recruiting replacements. Additionally, inspectors found that some poorly trained officials had used artificial intelligence tools such as Copilot and ChatGPT to assist with case assessments without official authorization. Tuckett expressed concern over the inappropriate use of AI in drafting asylum decision letters and during interviews.

Despite a 40% reduction in the asylum application backlog—to 35,700 cases—since the Labour government took office, inspectors warned that managerial focus had shifted toward processing volume rather than decision quality. An internal staff survey indicated that 83% of respondents felt pressured to expedite decisions to reduce waiting times.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the findings, suggesting that the high approval rate was encouraging irregular arrivals and that the current administration lacked the resolve to deport failed claimants. “Boat arrivals know their claim will almost certainly be approved regardless of its merits, and even if it is rejected, Labour do not have the backbone to deport anyone,” he said.

In response, a Home Office spokesperson emphasized that the review was based on a very limited sample size and cited the department’s broader quality assessments. “This is from a small sample of 47 cases. Our assessment of nearly 4,000 cases shows 94 per cent of decisions are considered ‘correct’ against agreed criteria,” the statement said.

The findings renew questions about the Home Office’s ability to maintain both efficiency and accuracy in processing asylum claims amid staffing shortages and growing pressure to clear backlogs.