More than £500,000 a day is being spent detaining and moving illegal migrants within the UK and overseas, according to shocking new figures released by the Home Office.
A total of £185.5 million was spent between June 2025 and May 2026 on transporting and housing people held in immigration detention and Border Force custody.
The spending covers a range of services, including moving detainees between prisons, police stations, hospitals and short-term holding facilities.
The statistics, first shared with The Sun newspaper, also include the running costs of Immigration Removal Centres, and escorting migrants to deportation flights.
The figures show that £137.1 million was spent on escorts transporting migrants within the UK during the 12-month period - equating to around £375,000 every day.
A further £48.5 million was spent on overseas escort services, including accompanying migrants being returned to their countries of origin on scheduled and chartered flights.
Much of the work is carried out by private contractor Mitie, which has managed immigration escort and related services for the Home Office since 2018.
The figures have prompted criticism from campaigners and opposition politicians, who have accused the Government of wasting taxpayers' money.
John O'Connell, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said the Home Office needed to “pull the handbrake” on what he described as “eye-watering waste”.
Meanwhile, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also criticised the expenditure, calling it “a catastrophic waste of taxpayers' hard-earned money”.
The Home Office, however, said the figures should not be interpreted as the cost of simply transporting migrants.
A spokesman said the sums “incorporate broader expenditure for a significant amount of other services including immigration detention facilities and wider operational matters”.
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The spending comes as the Government faces continued pressure over the cost of managing the UK's immigration and asylum system, including the detention and removal of people who have no legal right to remain in the country.
The Home Office has said immigration detention is used to support removal and prevent people from absconding while their cases are processed.
The new figures provide a snapshot of the cost of the system over a single year, and paint a staggering picture when paired with the costs of housing and maintaining lifestyles of those arriving in Britain.
The revelation comes as Andy Burnham has been urged to launch an inquiry into illegal migration, with 10,000 Britons signing a petition calling for a national probe.
Published on July 15, the petition received thousands of signatures just days after mega-dinghies were pictured crossing the Channel.
The Labour Government will now need to directly respond to calls for a national inquiry, with MPs only having the opportunity to hold a Westminster Hall debate if the petition exceeds 100,000 signatures.
Concern mounted just this week, as the Home Office released guidance telling migrants that sex without consent is rape, and that a person cannot consent while they are asleep, drunk or otherwise unable to respond.
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