Letter to Glasgow asylum seekers criticised as "callous and inhumane"

A letter telling hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow they could be evicted at short-notice was slammed by a group of MPs today.

The correspondence from the UK Borders Agency, which was involved in a dispute with Glasgow City Council at the time, was judged to have caused "panic and distress" to vulnerable people by Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee.

Committee chair Ian Davidson MP said the saga was a "lesson in communication mismanagement".

In November, 600 families in Glasgow received letters from the body telling them they could soon be re-homed.

It warned that they may be required to move elsewhere in Scotland with just three to five days' notice, and that each person would only be allowed to take two pieces of luggage.

The letters were sent after the UKBA - an executive agency of the Home Office - signalled its intention to terminate a contract with Glasgow City Council to provide housing for asylum seekers.

Neither Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Refugee Council nor the UKBA's own office in Glasgow were told in advance that the letters were being posted.

Hundreds of people subsequently staged a protest outside the UKBA centre in the Govan area of Glasgow, in which they burned the letters sent to them.

The Commons committee decided to look into the issue and it heard evidence last month from immigration minister Damian Green.

Mr Green apologised for the letter and acknowledged it may have caused distress.

The MPs today praised Mr Green for responding speedily and appropriately to the situation he had been put in.

However, the committee was critical of the manner in which UKBA's London office notified the asylum seekers of the changes to their housing provision.

In their report on the matter today, the MPs concluded: "We regard the letter which was sent out by the UK Border Agency in London to asylum seekers dispersed to Glasgow City Council accommodation to have been inappropriate at best, and callous and inhumane at worst.

"It undoubtedly caused panic and distress to a large number of vulnerable people. We note that even the UK Border Agency office in Scotland was unaware of the dispatch of this letter and, thus, no-one in Glasgow was able to prepare asylum seekers for its receipt."

They also said the apparent lack of firm contingency plans at the time the contract was terminated was a matter of "regret".

The committee said it remains unclear about certain issues and was unable to clarify the complete financial situation around the accommodation contract.

They said they plan to consider further "various matters" relating to the work of the UKBA in Scotland.

Mr Davidson said: "A lesson in communication mismanagement has been amply demonstrated by UKBA in its handling of this case. We must not underestimate the distress and upset caused by UKBA's actions.

"However, we are reassured that the minister acted speedily and it is now important to look forward; a number of issues surfaced during our short inquiry which we feel require further examination and we plan to hold hearings on these in due course."