300 asylum seekers 'dumped' in Glasgow hotels with no social distancing, charity warns

People are ‘terrified’ of catching the virus, the group said.

Up to 300 asylum seekers have been ‘dumped’ in Glasgow city centre hotels with no social distancing measures, a homelessness charity has claimed.

Positive Action in Housing said that the asylum seekers – including children, families, pregnant women and those assessed with mental health problems – had been moved from self-contained accommodation to hotels over the past 10 days by Mears Group, which is subcontracted by the Home Office.

The charity said people now in the hotels were ‘terrified’ of catching or infecting others with Covid-19, as no social distancing rules had been put in place.

Up to 300 people have been sent to hotels around the city. Picture: John Devlin

It also said that some destitute asylum seekers had been moved into hotels with no financial support, leaving them unable to top up their phones in order to keep in touch with lawyers, caseworkers and doctors.

Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing, said: "We have a global pandemic, a field hospital at Glasgow's SEC, and a mass mortuary in Hillington, yet Mears is effectively dumping hundreds of asylum seekers into hotels all over Glasgow without any financial support where it is impossible to do proper social distancing.

"People are forced to interact with others at close proximity in communal areas and using shared lifts in order to access basics like food.

"They are terrified of infecting or being infected.”