One of the main planks of British asylum policy is to discourage new arrivals. A message is supposed to reach the countries from which asylum seekers come that only genuine refugees will be welcome here.

All others will be dealt with swiftly and sternly, and those whose applications fail will be removed without the chance of a protracted appeal.

Unfortunately, the message is not yet having the desired effect. New figures released today say the number of applicants rose by 4% between April and June - 28% higher than the same period last year.

The quarterly total was more than 20,000 for the first time since 2000, with the biggest increases from Iraq and the Czech Republic. The Home Office will be relieved that it has a record number of removals to report - 3,120 including dependents.

But that is still only just over a third of the target figure of 30,000 removals a year promised by David Blunkett. Does that target still stand?

The Immigration Minister, Beverley Hughes tells us the target was always a "means to an end", refuses to say what the new target is, and says the issue will be addressed in the next few months.

Oliver Letwin for the Tories tells us the government has "utterly failed" in what it set out to do.

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