Official figures have shown another sharp fall in the number of asylum seekers.

Applications are now 70 per cent lower per month than the high point of October 2002, when the prime minister promised to halve the number of entrants claiming refuge in Britain, and 26 per cent lower than the same point last year.

Separate immigration figures published yesterday showed a 20 per cent rise in people allowed to settle in Britain. A record 139,675 settled here in 2003 compared with 59,000 when Labour came to power in 1997.

The Conservative home affairs spokesman, Humfrey Malins, said that a small fall in the asylum figures was meaningless.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "If there are fewer asylum applications in the last quarter, most people believe that that could mean greater numbers of people are still entering the country illegally, because our borders are not secure, and simply not bothering to claim asylum."

The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said: "Setting targets to reduce asylum applications is a meaningless exercise. The numbers seeking asylum should be based on the international situation, not the government's reaction to tabloid hysteria."

Home office minister Des Browne said the government would bring in new powers to crack down on abuse of the asylum system.