Taxpayers Fury as Asylum Seekers Chauffeured Hundreds of Miles in £600 Taxi Rides

Taxpayers are footing a multi million pound bill to shuttle asylum seekers to medical appointments, with fresh figures showing one Home Office contractor spends more than £344,000 every month on taxis. The revelation has triggered a political storm, with critics slamming the system as wasteful and unfair.

Clearsprings Ready Homes, one of the companies paid to house and support asylum seekers, has come under fire after legal documents revealed that transport provider PTS 247 was receiving close to £350,000 a month for around 6,000 journeys. The firm, which charges £1.85 a mile for longer trips, is suing Clearsprings for £2.75 million in unpaid invoices, reported the Express.

The scale of the costs was highlighted by Afghan asylum seeker Kadir, who told the BBC he was once taken 250 miles by taxi for a routine knee check up. The return fare came to around £600. “Should the Home Office give me the ticket for the train? This is the easy way, and they know they spend too much money. We know as well, but we don’t have any choice. It’s crazy,” he said.

The policy has raised serious questions about how asylum hotels are managed. Migrants are entitled to stay registered with the same GP even when moved to another part of the country, meaning some are chauffeured back hundreds of miles to keep appointments. Former managers have claimed that a number of residents even invented appointments to get free rides for shopping trips or nights out.

The situation has sparked anger across the political spectrum. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of “writing a blank cheque for illegal immigration,” while Reform UK’s Dr David Bull said: “If you live here and pay taxes it’s difficult to see a GP in the first instance. But asylum seekers seem to have fast track access.”

NHS staff have also voiced their frustration. Psychiatrist Valerie Lucas described the system as “staggering incompetence,” pointing out that she has patients with schizophrenia who have waited years for a diagnosis. “£600 would have covered that session,” she said. “I know patients who have died waiting. It shines a light on a system on its knees.”

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook defended the principle of offering transport, noting that asylum seekers were in hotels because their claims were being processed. “These are not ordinary citizens just jumping on a bus,” he said. But he admitted it was “very questionable why such a long distance was travelled.”

In response to the backlash, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an urgent review into the scheme. The Home Office admitted it does not currently hold central records on how many journeys have been made or the overall annual cost.

With the asylum system already costing billions, news of hundreds of thousands spent each month on cab rides has intensified concerns that the process is spiralling out of control. For many taxpayers struggling to book their own NHS appointments, the thought of asylum seekers being ferried on £600 taxi trips has only deepened resentment and fuelled calls for reform.

A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed: “The Home Secretary has asked the department to urgently look into the use of taxis to transfer asylum seekers.”