# Incredible waste of £23million spent on luxury hotel for migrants – and not one room used

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/incredible-waste-of-23million-spent-on-luxury-hotel-for-migrants-and-not-one-room-used/
- Published: 2026-11-07T13:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T13:37:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Express (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2264119/fury-23million-blown-asylum-hotel
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- The Home Office lost £23 million on an unused hotel contract.
- Asylum spending exceeded its 2025-26 budget by £100 million.
- The hotel bill has revived debate over accommodation and migration policy.

## Summary

The Home Office spent £23 million on a nine-month contract for the Atrium hotel near Heathrow, but never used it to house asylum seekers. The National Audit Office says the department had expected a surge in demand at the former RAF Manston processing site; the resulting loss has renewed Conservative calls for tougher migration policies, including reviving the Rwanda plan.

The contract was signed in August 2025, and Conservatives say its cost amounted to more than £84,000 a day. The audit found asylum spending reached £3.7 billion in 2025-26, against a £3.6 billion budget. It also said the estimated ten-year cost of asylum accommodation rose from £4.5 billion in 2019 to £15.3 billion in 2024, partly because more people were housed in hotels than expected. The Refugee Council said hotels are unsuitable and costly, and argued for community-based accommodation while cases are decided.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.