Gordon Brown offers sympathy to friends of Russian asylum trio

Published on Wednesday 10 March 2010 16:05

PRIME MINISTER Gordon Brown has commuted his sympathies to the family and friends of the three Russian asylum seekers who apparently committed suicide by jumping from a Glasgow high rise flat.

• Residents of the Red Row flats complex in Springburn hold a candlelight vigil last night

The bodies of the mother, father and son were found at the bottom of a 31-storey block in Petershill Drive in the Springburn area of Glasgow on Sunday.

The three Russian nationals have yet to be named by police but it is understood they were Serguei Serykh, 43, his wife Tatiana and his stepson.

The family are believed to have moved to Canada and were granted refugee status in 2005.

But allegations against the Canadian authorities were made by one of the three after an application for Canadian citizenship was refused.

The family are understood to have received a letter explaining that their accommodation in Glasgow was due to stop on Sunday.

Glasgow North East Labour MP Willie Bain met with Mr Brown in London.

Following the meeting, Mr Bain said: "I met with the Prime Minister today and conveyed to him the shock of my local community at the weekend's events. This is a terrible tragedy that has impacted upon all of us.

"The sad irony is that I visited the area on Saturday and witnessed the important work being carried out by the Red Road Integration Network, which provides support and assistance to asylum seekers and involves the wider community.

"The Prime Minister asked that I pass on his sincere condolences to the deceased's friends and family, and expressed his support for the people of Springburn at this time.

"We talked about the asylum system, in particular how we can publicise the support network available to applicants and what measures can be put in place to better support those whose cases have been fully determined."

Glasgow-based charity Positive Action in Housing reiterated its calls for a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Robina Qureshi, director of the charity, said: "We want to know what other factors may have influenced their deaths.

"That is why we are calling for a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the Red Road deaths. We want to know if the asylum process played any part in influencing their decision to end their lives.

"People have a right to know whether our asylum system is fair and the extent of the fear that families and individuals suffer when they claim asylum in this country."

"We are also calling for an immediate end to any enforced removals by the UKBA in the Red Road flats or evictions by the YMCA," she added.

In a statement last night, a UK Border Agency spokesman said there were no immediate plans to return the family to Canada.

"We had advised the family that we were making arrangements to return them to Canada – where they had been granted protection. However, no imminent action to remove them from the UK had been planned.

"No UK Border Agency officers were in the vicinity when these events took place. We will continue to work with Strathclyde Police while this incident is under investigation."