The volatile debate on asylum seekers will be fuelled this week by new figures showing a record number of refugees residing in Britain.

Home Office statistics will show that last year the number of asylum seekers entering Britain rose by 20 per cent to 110,000 - the highest ever recorded.

Ministers will be alarmed by the news that their efforts to bring the numbers under control are failing.

Despite repeated policy reviews, including new laws introduced in November, the rate of arrivals increased in the final quarter of 2002.

In 2001, 71,365 applications for asylum were made with the number rising to 85,000 last year. This figure excludes the dependent partners and children of refugees who, when included, take the 2002 total up to 110,000.

A Home Office spokesman told the Sunday Times that "it was precisely because we could see high figures coming through that we have taken some of the actions that we have".

Tony Blair has pledged to half the number of entrants by September this year, a promise many experts believe to be unrealistic.

After he made the announcement on a political talk show, opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith accused the prime minister of "dreaming up" the policy "on the way into the television studio".

The Conservatives have sought to toughen their stance on asylum in recent weeks at the same time as press attention has begun to focus on the issue.

The news that a terrorist suspect accused of murdering a police officer in Manchester in January was an asylum seeker provoked a new tabloid outcry at the security measures being taken at Britain's borders.