In the final days of Sir Keir Starmer’s government, we saw familiar posts circulating on social media claiming that the former prime minister “won the case that gave illegal migrants access to UK benefits” in 2003. The posts likely refer to a 2003 case concerning asylum seekers in which Mr Starmer represented five claimants challenging the legal basis for the Home Office refusing financial support or accommodation to asylum seekers who had not applied for asylum “as soon as reasonably practicable” after arriving in the UK. The court ruled in favour of the claimants. But eligible asylum seekers could already access accommodation and financial support before this case, under previous legislation. Asylum support is separate from the mainstream benefits system, and we’ve written more about it here.