A former Home Office employee has told The Times that only around one in 100 asylum claims are genuine, alleging widespread fraud in the UK's asylum system, including large groups of applicants using near-identical or coordinated cover stories. The whistleblower described cases such as hundreds of Iraqi Kurds claiming ties to the same relative of a Kurdish politician, and numerous Pakistani men claiming to be in a relationship with the same man to support fabricated asylum grounds, suggesting organised coaching rather than genuine individual cases.

The whistleblower said the screening and interview process, spaced months apart, gives applicants time to prepare fake evidence, and claimed staff faced pressure to approve rather than reject claims due to the extra time rejections require. Home Office figures show 90 per cent of claims come from people who overstayed work, study or visitor visas, with Pakistan the largest source of gay or bisexual asylum claims. This follows a BBC investigation into advisers charging up to £7,000 to coach false claims; the Home Office said it does not comment on anonymous briefings but insisted fraudulent applicants would be refused and removed.