An illegal migrant is sprayed with tear gas while trying to escape French police

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow

A Government source said: “It is unacceptable that our troops who go abroad to protect British people are pursued through British courts with British taxpayers’ money by people who don’t even live in Britain.

A new “residence test” will see taxpayerfunded civil legal aid restricted to people who have been lawfully resident in the UK for at least 12 months at the time they apply.

Foreigners making claims of mistreatment against British troops will also be banned from claiming legal aid under new Government plans.

Illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers will be barred from using taxpayers' money

Too many immigrants locked up at detention centres across Britain,...

“Nor is it right that illegal immigrants who have exhausted all avenues to remain in the UK should be able to draw upon public funds to prolong their stay in the country.

The residence test will help to restore public faith in civil legal aid

“The residence test will help to restore public faith in civil legal aid, assuring people it is being used in the right way and for those it is truly supposed to support.”

Legal aid data is not broken down to denote precisely which payments have been made to illegal immigrants or foreign claimants but it has been revealed that £6million has been paid out to large legal firms representing such clients since 2010.

It was reported earlier this month that British taxpayers are paying more than £650,000 a week in legal aid to asylum seekers and the figures are growing in the wake of the migrant crisis, which has overwhelmed border controls across the EU.

Ministry of Justice figures show that in the last financial year 34,768 cases were approved for free legal advice at a cost of £30million.

The migrants crisis was highlighted in the last quarter of that financial year (January to March 2015) when £8.4million was spent on nearly 10,000 cases.