| In his response yesterday to an urgent question from Alison Thewliss MP about support for asylum seekers, Chris Philip MP, Home Office Minister stated that
"among those people accommodated in hotels there has not been a single confirmed case of coronavirus and therefore the steps taken to to safeguard the public and safeguard the asylum seekers in particular, have been successful."
Mr Philps failed to mention that noone had been tested, or acknowledge that asylum seekers in the hotels had complained of being denied medical attention and being confined to their rooms. He also failed to acknowledge that the mentally ill asylum seeker who attacked six people including a police officer in the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow was reported to be isolating from suspected Covid 19 and had been confined for 20 days in one of the hotels.
Mr Philp's argument seemed to be " it turned out good so we must have done something right".
So would he apply the same test to the death of Adnan Elbi last month who told the Home Office - in writing through his lawyer - that he was suicidal in the Mclays Guest House and was then found dead in his hotel room five days later? Or to the mentally ill asylum seeker who nearly killed six people in the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow last week? Both were under the care of the Home Office and Mears.
Should the Home Office and Mears now say:"it turned out tragically wrong and we did something really bad"?
In fact, they deny that anything has gone wrong at all. In the ensuing press coverage, neither the Home Office or Mears has put up anyone to answer the concerns that had been circulating for months about the vulnerability of the asylum seekers under their care. Six Scottish MPs turned down a meeting with John Taylor of Mears last Friday because of "trust issues".
In March 2020 the Mears Group forcibly moved over 350 vulnerable asylum seekers at initial accommodation stage from settled, available homes into hotels, bundled into vans 4 or 5 at a time, with less than half an hours notice, at a time when non essential travel - and evictions - were forbidden and millions were told to "stay home, stay safe". Less than a month after moving asylum seekers from settled homes into hotels, 30 year old Adnan died alone in his room at the McLays Guest House. We have documented evidence that he had expressed suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide after being forcibly moved from his home at 30 St Andrews Square into the guest house.Five days before he died, the Home Office asked for a statement about his suicidal intentions but neither the Home Office or Mears took ANY action to provide any support. Six weeks later, in the Park Inn Hotel, six people were knifed by a mentally ill Sudanese asylum seeker, having been placed there by Mears alongside 100 other vulnerable people, including trafficked women, unaccompanied asylum seeker children and people with mental health trauma.
The common denominator in these incidents? Hotels used as long term accommodation for vulnerable people. And the dangerous role played by the Home Office and the Mears Group and their failure of duty of basic care towards hundreds of vulnerable people. Positive Action in Housing is now demanding a full public inquiry into what went wrong. Our key demands are:
1. We call on the Mears Group to arrange for the immediate return of 370 people to residential homes.
2. We call on the Mears Group/Home Office to immediately restore the basic allowance of £5.39 per day.
3. We call on the Home Office to expedite people's asylum cases so they are not left waiting for a decision. they have been traumatised on their asylum journey, and retraumatised by the tragic incident of last week.
4. We call for a public inquiry into the events which led to the death of Syrian refugee, Adnan Elbi , who died at the age of 30 in the Mclays Guest House on May 5 2020 after warnings that he was suicidal, the tragic incident on Friday 26 June 2020 whereby one person is dead and six were injured including a police officer, and to find out whether Vulnerability Assessments were carried out, and the Home Office procurement processes which led to this deadly accommodation crisis and the use of hotel detention.
Read our full statement here and key demands and add your name in support by clicking here and give a donation to our Emergency Relief fund. How you can help in other ways, just click here - and join us in a socially distanced action tomorrow Wed 1 July 2020 6 pm
thanks for your support.
Robina Qureshi
Positive Action in Housing
www.paih.org
www.roomforrefugees.com
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