7:44am UK, Monday 23 July 2012

The troubled UK Border Agency faces a backlog of cases equivalent to the population of Newcastle, MPs have warned.

Missing foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers, illegal immigrants and others refusing to leave the country make up more than 275,000 cases which the agency still needs to deal with, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said.

Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, said the backlog, which will take years to clear, was unacceptable, adding that the agency seems to have "acquired its own Bermuda triangle".

"Cases enter this area and very few come out - and there's no indication of when they're going to clear a very large backlog of 275,000 cases," the Labour MP said.

"This is the first time that the committee has collated all the cases at the UK Border Agency that await resolution.

"This backlog is now equivalent to the entire population of Newcastle upon Tyne."

Mr Vaz said staff at the UKBA should forfeit their bonuses until the backlog is dealt with.

"Even though this is happening, senior management at the Border Agency receive bonuses," he said.

"We believe all bonuses that they received last year should be handed back to the taxpayer until they're an organisation that carries out the intentions of Parliament and the Government."

http://news.sky.com/story/963678/ukba-backlog-equal-to-size-of-newcastle