LONDON — Britain’s government is planning a major overhaul of the asylum appeals process as it seeks to cut the number of migrants housed in hotels while they await rulings.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said a new body staffed by independent adjudicators will be created to tackle “unacceptable delays” in the system, with ministers insisting it will act more swiftly than the courts.

The move comes as the government faces rising political and public pressure over its reliance on asylum hotels, where 32,000 asylum seekers remain housed.

Protests erupted across the UK on Saturday, with demonstrations in Bristol, Liverpool, London, Mold, Perth and County Antrim. Police made 12 arrests, including 11 in Liverpool and one in Bristol.

Cooper acknowledged that initial decisions on asylum claims had sped up but said appeals now take on average more than a year to resolve, with 51,000 cases pending.

“During this time failed asylum seekers are accommodated at the taxpayers’ expense,” she said.

The Refugee Council argued the best way to reduce appeals is to “get decisions right first time.” Its policy director Imran Hussain told the BBC that about half of appeals succeed because “the decision was found to be flawed in some way,” adding that judicial oversight is essential in “life and death” asylum cases.

The asylum hotel issue has become increasingly fraught. In Epping, thousands have protested outside the Bell Hotel since a resident asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Last week, the High Court granted the council an injunction to block further housing of asylum seekers there, ordering current residents out by Sept. 12.

The government is seeking to appeal that ruling, but several other councils — including Tory-controlled Hillingdon, which houses more than 2,200 asylum seekers — are considering similar legal action.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged party-run councils to follow Epping’s lead, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said councils under his party would “do everything in their power” to push back against asylum hotels.

Figures released this week by the Home Office show 131 of the UK’s 300-plus local authorities currently host asylum seekers in contingency accommodation, mostly hotels. Of those, 74 are Labour-led, 30 Liberal Democrat, 19 Conservative, nine Green, and one Reform UK.

The government has promised to release further details on how it will speed up asylum appeals in the autumn, while maintaining its pledge to end hotel use within this parliament. — BBC