Migrant centres have cost taxpayers £60m in six months

COSTLY: Security costs at Manston processing centre and Western Jet Foil are £2million a week (Image: Getty) The figures emerged as it was revealed that up to June a record 175,000 migrants were waiting to find out if they had been given asylum. This was an increase of 44 per cent on the same period last year. The crisis and the processing backlog has caused anger, not least due to the huge price of feeding and housing new arrivals. Now figures show security costs at Western Jet Foil near Dover – where many migrants initially arrive – and the larger Manston processing centre in Kent – where the majority are moved to – were more than £2million a week. New figures show security costs are over £2million a week (Image: Getty) The sum is in addition to the £6million a day it costs to house people in hotels while claims are determined. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that from July to December last year, external contractors at the Manston and Western Jet Foil sites cost £61million. A further £4million was spent on eight staff at a medical centre and three emergency consultant doctors providing clinical cover, with one on site from 8am to 8pm and on-call cover overnight. The majority of security is provided by private firm Interforce. In June a record 175,000 migrants were waiting to find out if they had been given asylum. (Image: Getty) Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: ‘This crisis just gets worse, with no improvement in sight. ‘Only the traffickers and contractor firms, who provide this security, benefit while the taxpayer foots the astronomical bill. The public have had enough and demand an end to the costly chaos.’ The excessive costs could be set to rise as the Government struggles to fulfil a pledge to ‘stop the boats’. It is believed the contractor budget has increased as agency workers are given full pay while they await stringent Home Office security clearance which can take several months. Last year saw a series of other problems at the Manston site, including overcrowding, filthy conditions, an outbreak of diphtheria, with one death, and claims of assaults on migrants. Western Jet Foil was attacked by a right-wing extremist who threw three petrol bombs before being found dead at a nearby service station. Conditions at the Manston site were described as ‘filthy’ (Image: Getty) The costs were requested after an inspection report published in June by David Neal, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, found the centre was increasingly reliant upon contractors over Border Force and Ministry of Defence workers. The report said: ‘The operations at WJF and Manston have increasingly relied on contractors during the course of 2022. ‘Most notably, Interforce has taken over from Ministry of Defence personnel. The highly competitive market and essential security checks on prospective new employees/contractors continue to pose a significant challenge to timely recruitment.’ Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister, blasted the Government’s handling of the migrant crisis, urging it to ‘get a grip’. He said: ‘The Tories have created chaos in the immigration system and the taxpayer is picking up the eyewatering bill.’