Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Edinburgh Evening News
FAILED asylum seekers are being forced to eat out of bins and sleep in public toilets because the Government has forced them into destitution, charities claimed today.
Amnesty International and Refugee Action said a new report was the first in-depth survey of poverty among people who lost asylum applications.
They said their study found thousands had been left with no means of support, including some who sleep in phone boxes, parks and lavatories.
The groups said the Government was deliberately using destitution to drive refused asylum seekers out of Britain, but claimed it was actually having the reverse effect.
Asylum seekers' hand-outs are cut off 21 days after a final refusal is made on their claim.
Limited support is available after that point, but only if they agree to leave the UK voluntarily, the report said.
However, many feared going home to countries such as Iraq or Somalia, it added.
Amnesty director Kate Allen said: "Forcing people into complete destitution as an attempt to drive them out of the country is backfiring badly and vulnerable people are suffering.
"Refused asylum seekers in our towns and cities are being reduced to poverty."
Source: Edinburgh Evening New, Nov 7, 2006