Fury as Home Office contractor spends £344,000-a-month on taxis for asylum seekers

Taxpayers have been left to pick up a multi-million-pound tab to ferry asylum seekers to and from medical appointments - with figures revealing a Home Office contractor spends in excess of £344,000 each month on taxis. The revelation has sparked outrage, with shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accusing Labour of "writing a blank cheque for illegal immigration" and Reform UK's Dr David Bull claiming asylum seekers had "fast-track access".

Clearsprings Ready Homes, one of the private firms contracted to provide accommodation and support for migrants, has been accused of presiding over runaway costs after legal papers revealed one transport company, PTS-247, was handed almost £350,000 a month for 6,000 journeys. The firm charges £1.85 a mile for trips over 175 miles and is currently suing Clearsprings for £2.75 million in unpaid invoices.

In one example, Afghan asylum seeker Kadir admitted he had been taken 250 miles by taxi for a routine knee check-up - a return fare costing around £600.

He told the BBC: "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."

The practice has raised fresh questions over the management of asylum hotels, where migrants are entitled to keep the same doctors even when moved to different parts of the country.

The policy means that those transferred hundreds of miles away are routinely chauffeured back to their original GPs. Critics argue the system is open to abuse, with some former managers claiming that migrants invented appointments to secure free lifts for shopping trips or nights out.

The revelations have ignited political fury. Mr Philp accused Labour of "writing a blank cheque for illegal immigration", while Dr 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 psychiatrist Valerie Lucas branded the situation "staggering incompetence", pointing out that she had patients with schizophrenia who had waited two 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 providing transport, arguing: "These are not ordinary citizens just jumping on a bus. These are asylum seekers having claims processed.

"That's why they're in hotels in the first place. But it's very questionable why such a long distance was travelled."

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has now ordered an urgent probe into the scheme amid mounting anger over the waste of public money. The Home Office admitted it does not currently hold central figures on the number of journeys made or the total annual cost.

With asylum accommodation already costing billions, news that hundreds of thousands are being spent on taxi rides each month has fuelled accusations that the system is out of control.

For many taxpayers struggling to access their own NHS appointments, the notion of £600 cab rides for migrants has only deepened resentment and sharpened calls for reform.

The Home Office requires that all vehicles used by asylum support providers be safe and meet contractual standards - the use of individual vehicles is a decision for relevant supplier.

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