Asylum seekers and refugees are being lavished with yoga classes, circus classes, tickets to sports matches, and PlayStations, using public money, it is reported.
Local authorities have forked out £141 million since 2022 on activities for asylum seekers, despite burgeoning pressure on the public finances.
As well as extravagent gifts and experiences, asylum seekers have been getting free driving lessons, according to The Telegraph.
Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe savaged the councils for the outlay. He said: “It is pure insanity. What message does this send to the millions looking to make the journey?
“No computer games, driving lessons, phones, laptops or whatever else. They should receive a one-way plane ticket.”
He went on: “Overall, the waste is simply staggering. How can the drain on the public purse be justified at a time when we’re all being asked to pay so much more?
“Every single penny being spent on this nonsense should be urgently reviewed, and if it doesn’t represent value for the British taxpayer, cancel the contract as soon as possible.”
The paper revealed that Conservative-run West Sussex Council spent over £800 on yoga sessions and PlayStation consoles and games for asylum seekers. At the same time, the local authority is hiking council tax by 5%, as it claims central Government funding is “insufficient to meet the growing needs of our residents”.
Bristol Council has used public money to take asylum seekers to watch Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, as well as Bristol City and Bristol Rovers football teams.
Meanwhile, Denbighshire council in Wales spent £550 to offer asylum seekers a stadium tour of Anfield last year.
And Cardiff council used Government funding to work with partner organisations to teach “circus skills”.
Campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, William Yarwood, argued that “taxpayers will be furious that councils seem more interested in buying PlayStations for asylum seekers than fixing potholes”.
He went on: “While Brits put up with crumbling roads and declining public services, they have every right to ask where their council’s priorities really lie.
“Town hall bosses need to get their act together.”