LONDON, Sept 14: A UN report has revealed that Britain is the first choice of asylum seekers with the number of new arrivals reaching to one hundred thousand in a year.

Figures show that the number of new arrivals in the UK is 51,500 in the first six months of 2002, which is far higher than the second most popular destination, Germany, which received 36,259 asylum seekers in same period.

The report has also revealed that the number of new asylum seeker to Britain is increasing faster than ever.

The report compiled by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) shows that the number of asylum seekers has dramatically decreased to countries where rightwing governments are in power, and where immigration laws were tightened.

Australia, which has a tough immigrant policy, has seen a 54 per cent drop in asylum applications. Only 3,284 people applied for asylum in the past year, which is roughly five per cent of the total applications received in the UK.

The figures come as a blow to Home Secretary David Blunkett, whose asylum policy suffered a setback on Wednesday when the British High Court ruled that the minister acted unlawfully when he ordered the deportation of an Afghan family to Germany.

The British government is desperate to tighten its immigration laws as it fears a backlash from far-right political forces in the country.