asylum

Dame Angela said Labour was making the asylum system "fit for purpose" after inheriting "an unholy mess" - where fewer than 1,000 cases a month were being processed.

"There’s a feeling in both parties that as a city we’ve done more than anyone to provide support for asylum seekers."

The riots broke out after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a children's dance event in Southport, and subsequent misinformation the suspect was an asylum seeker.

That has sometimes led to allowing asylum seekers into the country while they await court dates with immigration judges, a practice critics deride as “catch and release.”

Last week a Rome court ordered the transfer of seven Egyptian and Bangladeshi asylum seekers from one of the two centres to Italy.