GETTY IMAGES More people claimed asylum in October than ever before

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Some 5,095 people applied for asylum in October 2015, according to official European Union (EU) figures. This is the highest total for a month since current records began in January 2009. There was a dramatic jump in claims last year as the international migration crisis escalated. The number of people applying for asylum in Britain in October was 84 per cent higher than the 2,770 registered nine months earlier in January. It was also a rise of a quarter compared with the previous month.

It is important that we know where these applications are coming from, and that the Government develops a coherent, defensible and transparent policy in processing asylum requests Keith Vaz

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: "These statistics are another nail in the Government's commitment to reduce migration to the tens of thousands. "It is important that we know where these applications are coming from, and that the Government develops a coherent, defensible and transparent policy in processing asylum requests." The Government does not publish monthly asylum data, instead using quarterly figures. These have also revealed a sharp rise in claims, with the number of people applying for asylum reaching its highest level for 12 years between July and September.

GETTY IMAGES Keith Vaz has called for transparency in the asylum system

The Home Office said the Eurostat figures include dependants of the main applicant and reapplications, where a claim may have been withdrawn and then resubmitted, plus others that have been withdrawn entirely. A spokesman for the department said: "The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of offering sanctuary to those who genuinely need our protection. "All claims for asylum are considered on their individual merits, and where people establish a genuine need for protection from persecution, refuge will be granted.

GETTY IMAGES Refugee camps in France have a lot of people who want asylum in the UK

However, if people do not need our protection they are expected to leave the UK and we may remove them if they do not go voluntarily." The statistics indicate that 530 - around one in 10 - of the applications received in the UK in October were from Syrians - a rise of 63 per cent on the previous month. Some 615 claims were made by Eritreans. Claims covering 152,100 individuals were made across the EU in October. Of the 24 member states for which figures are available, Britain received the eighth highest number of applicants. More were registered in Germany, with 54,870 claims, Sweden (39,055), Italy (10,440), Netherlands (10,160), France (8,060), Finland (7,005) and Belgium (6,020).

REUTERS Abdul Rahman Haroun was granted asylum after walking the length of the Channel Tunnel