The dreadful cost of a broken asylum system | Letter

Supporters of a failed' asylum seeker who has now won her fourth appeal count the cost to both her and the state

We have been supporting a failed" asylum seeker in her struggle against the asylum system. Her case, though exceptionally strong, was never accepted as she had not been willing in her first interview to reveal to a male interpreter details of abuse at the hands of the police.

For the last 20 years, her claims were dismissed on the basis that she lacked credibility. We knew otherwise. She was a trained teacher. If one calculates the costs, taking into account the lost income from her not working (tax, national insurance etc), the cost to NGOs that supported her with food, clothing and accommodation, the cost of tribunals, legal and clerical work, and the associated costs of processing her four appeals, the overall cost to the UK state is of the order of 250,000.