Councils' £40m bill for asylum bungle

A bungled asylum amnesty is set to cost London council tax payers £40 million.

The asylum seekers have their accommodation paid for by the Government under a special scheme designed to relieve pressure on councils.

But once they are given permission to stay they immediately become the responsibility of councils who are legally obliged to find them homes or pay housing benefit to their landlords.

The amnesty was announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett in October in a bid to clear the backlog of applications. He claimed the measure-would save taxpayers £180 million-in benefit and accommodation

The boroughs are demanding talks with new immigration minister Des Browne.

A south London council source said: "When the Government announced these exemptions, without any warnings or consultation, we recognised that this would cause real problems to town halls across London.

"We warned ministers what to expect and urged them to rethink, but they just ignored us. Now it looks as though council taxpayers in London will be forced to foot the bill."