The Independent: Ten Saudis seek asylum after princess is allowed to stayJuly 21, 2009
By Robert Verkaik, Home Affairs Editor
Chairman of home affairs committee welcomes decision to give sanctuary to woman with illegitimate child
Ministers are considering asylum applications for 10 Saudi Arabian nationals who claim they are at risk of persecution if they are forced to return to the Middle Eastern kingdom, it emerged last night.
The new cases were made public after The Independent revealed the plight of a Saudi princess who was granted asylum in Britain after she had an illegitimate child with a British man.
The young woman, who has also been granted anonymity by the courts, won her claim for asylum after she told a court that she faced execution if her husband found out about her adultery and she was forced to return to Saudi Arabia.
Immigration and asylum experts said last night that asylum cases from women fleeing the kingdom were very rare. But Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said of the case: "This is the kind of person that our asylum laws are designed to protect. A woman and her unborn child should under no circumstances be sent back to a country where it is likely that they will be harmed. I welcome the decision made in this case."
New figures released by the Home Office also showed that a further 15 Saudis were refused asylum by the Government last year. There are no details about the sex of each of the applicants nor for the number of asylum applications received this year.
Mr Vaz called for more information to be made public about claims from Saudi Arabia. He said: "This is a country with a questionable human rights record. It is important to make clear the number of people who are fleeing similar treatment."
The princess's case is one of a small number of claims for asylum brought by citizens of Saudi Arabia which are not openly acknowledged by either government. British diplomats believe that to do so would in effect highlight the persecution of women in Saudi Arabia, which would be viewed as open criticism of the House of Saud and lead to embarrassing publicity for both governments.
The woman, who comes from a very wealthy Saudi family, says she met her English boyfriend – who is not a Muslim – during a visit to London. They struck up a relationship after he gave her his telephone number in a department store. She became pregnant the following year and worried that her elderly husband – a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia – had become suspicious of her behaviour, she persuaded him to let her visit the UK again to give birth in secret. She feared for her life if she returned to Saudi Arabia.
She persuaded the court that if she returned to the kingdom she would be subject to capital punishment under Sharia law – specifically flogging and stoning to death. She was also worried about the possibility of an honour killing. Since she fled Saudi Arabia, her family and her husband's family have broken off contact with her.
The woman has been granted permanent leave to remain in the UK after the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal allowed her appeal. Keith Best, of the Immigration Advisory Service, said that Saudi nationals who were in genuine fear of persecution had the right to claim asylum in the United Kingdom. He explained: "They may also be able to claim if they were subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment. I can see why these cases can be difficult for Britain when one considers the relationship with the Saudi royal family and the many military contracts."
One case already refused by the Home Office is that of Yahya Al Faifi who claims he was persecuted in Saudi Arabia for conducting trade union activities, where trade unions are illegal. He and his family fled to the UK before 2006. In 2004, Al Faifi organised a trade union in BAE Systems after the company announced it was cutting pay by 40 per cent. More than 500 workers turned up to the first union meeting. But Mr Al Faifi and two others were sacked by BAE Systems. For several months afterwards Mr Yahya, whose case has been taken up by the RMT in the UK, continued to campaign for workers' rights leading to his case being given considerable media coverage.
However, when he refused to give up, he received repeated threats and was told that if he didn't leave the country immediately "the safety of his family could not be guaranteed". He left Saudi Arabia with his family to seek sanctuary in the UK. But after his case was refused he now faces deportation.
Saudi women: Victims of oppression
*Women are not allowed to drive or ride bicycles on public roads in large cities. But they are allowed to fly aircraft, though they must be chauffeured to the airport.
In September last year, women's rights activists petitioned the King to allow women to drive all vehicles. There were also calls for Saudi Arabian women to be allowed to compete in international sporting events along with their male counterparts. According to Amnesty International discrimination has fuelled violence against women, with foreign domestic workers particularly at risk of abuses such as beatings, rape and even murder, and non-payment of wages. Concerns have been raised that discriminatory laws relating to marriage mean women are trapped in violent and abusive relationships from which they have no legal recourse.
The Independent: Princess facing Saudi death penalty given secret UK asylumJuly 20, 2009
By Robert Verkaik, Home Affairs Editor
Woman feared she would be stoned after giving birth to an illegitimate child in Britain
A Saudi Arabian princess who had an illegitimate child with a British man has secretly been granted asylum in this country after she claimed she would face the death penalty if she were forced to return home. The young woman, who has been granted anonymity by the courts, won her claim for refugee status after telling a judge that her adulterous affair made her liable to death by stoning.
Her case is one of a small number of claims for asylum brought by citizens of Saudi Arabia which are not openly acknowledged by either government. British diplomats believe that to do so would in effect be to highlight the persecution of women in Saudi Arabia, which would be viewed as open criticism of the House of Saud and lead to embarrassing publicity for both governments.
The woman, who comes from a very wealthy Saudi family, says she met her English boyfriend – who is not a Muslim – during a visit to London. They struck up a relationship.
She became pregnant the following year and worried that her elderly husband – a member of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia – had become suspicious of her behaviour, she persuaded him to let her visit the UK again to give birth in secret. She feared for her life if she returned to Saudi Arabia.
She persuaded the court that if she returned to the Gulf state she and her child would be subject to capital punishment under Sharia law – specifically flogging and stoning to death. She was also worried about the possibility of an honour killing.
Since she fled Saudi Arabia, her family and her husband's family have broken off contact with her.
The woman has been granted permanent leave to remain in the UK after the Immigration and Asylum tribunal allowed her appeal.
The Home Office yesterday declined to discuss the case. A spokesman for the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in London said that he would call back but subsequently became unavailable.
Relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia have been strained in recent years and were brought to a head in 2006 when Tony Blair intervened to end a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) inquiry into alleged kickbacks paid in a multibillion military aircraft deal between the two states.
The Saudi royal family was deeply concerned about the idea that the investigators might try o open up their Swiss bank accounts, it was alleged at the time.
This led the Saudis to threaten to restrict the sharing of intelligence relating to terror activity if the prosecution went ahead. They also threatened to pull out of other highly-lucrative arms deals.
Last year, the House of Lords ruled that the SFO's decision to drop the corruption investigation into the £43bn Saudi arms deal with BAE Systems was unlawful.
In a hard-hitting ruling, two High Court judges described the SFO's decision as "an outrage".
One of them, Lord Justice Moses, said the SFO and the Government had given into "blatant threats" that Saudi intelligence co-operation would end unless the probe into corruption was halted.
"No one, whether within this country or outside, is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice," he said. "It is the failure of government and the defendant to bear that essential principle in mind that justifies the intervention of this court."
The Middle East state has been shrouded in controversy over oppressive policies against women and homosexuals. Secrecy surrounds much of the Saudi legal system, but in a recent report on the use of the death penalty in the kingdom, the human rights group Amnesty International highlighted its extensive use against men and women.
Adulterers face public stonings and floggings and, in the most serious cases, beheadings and hangings.
The high numbers of executions in Saudi Arabia in 2007 continued into 2008. There were at least 102 executions of men and women last year – at an average rate of two every week. Amnesty is aware of at least 136 individuals currently awaiting execution.
Last week, Saudi Arabia's religious police were blamed for the death of two sisters who were murdered in what was deemed an "honour killing" by their brother, after the sisters were arrested for allegedly mixing with men to whom they were not related.
The Society for Defending Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia said that the religious police had arrested the two sisters, aged 19 and 21, thus putting their lives in danger.
Their brother shot them dead in front of their father when they left a women's shelter in Riyadh on 5 July, according to Saudi news reports.
In 2007, in a case that shocked Saudis, a woman from Qatif was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison after being gang-raped. She offended cultural expectations because she was unaccompanied when she got into a car with a former boyfriend.
The man had agreed to hand back a photograph of the woman who was about to marry another man, but as they drove along a street they were stopped and seized by seven men who raped them both. The woman was originally sentenced to 90 lashes but the sentence was increased when she appealed. Eventually, after an international outcry, she was pardoned.
In 2007, King Abdullah II of Saudi Arabia was jeered during a state visit to Britain as dozens of demonstrators turned out to protest at his country's human rights record.
Immigration Act gives UK Border Agency customs powers | Home Office
22 July 2009
UK border controls were strengthened today as thousands of customs and immigration officers, sharing wide ranging powers, created a new unified force at the border following Royal Assent of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Frontline customs and immigration officers now work together as the UK Border Agency, with the power to quiz passengers on immigration and customs matters. This means many passengers will face just one primary check point when coming in to the UK, speeding up their journey.
Since the creation of the UK Border Agency (new window) in April 2008, bringing together immigration, customs and visa checks, more than 3,500 officers have already been trained with the skills to carry out passport and customs checks.
From 5 August 2009, 4,500 HM Revenue and Customs (new window) staff will formally become part of the UK Border Agency. This is a further step in the transformation of the Agency and strengthens its ability to crack down on those attempting to smuggle drugs and weapons into the UK and ensures Britain continues to have one of the strongest borders in the world.
The UK Border Agency, since April 2008, has already:
* stopped over 30,000 individual attempts by illegal migrants to get into Britain through France and Belgium
* stopped over 12,900 dangerous weapons, including firearms, stun guns and knives, reaching the street
* seized over £379m worth of illegal drugs
* seized in excess of 923 million cigarettes - representing a potential loss of £174m in tax revenue.
Statement from the Border and Immigration Minister
Phil Woolas said, 'This is part of the biggest transformation of our border controls in a generation. A unified force at the border with the powers to carry out customs and immigration checks allows us to continue the crack down on illegal immigration and the smuggling of drugs and weapons.
'I am determined that Britain’s border remains one of the strongest in the world. This Act is an important part of ensuring it stays that way.'
The Act also ensures that migrants who want to become British citizens earn the right to stay by speaking English, paying taxes and obeying the law.
It will speed up the path to citizenship for those who contribute to the community by being active citizens. Under the new system full access to benefits and social housing will be reserved for citizens and permanent residents — a route that can take up to ten years.
Mr Woolas added:
'This new Act ensures that those who want to stay earn the right to do so, learn to speak English and play by the rules. Those that don't will not be allowed to become citizens, making our system both firmer and fairer.
'I want to go further and within the next few weeks we will publish a consultation to examine how the current points based system for economic migrants, which has proved to be an effective and powerful tool for controlling migration, could be applied to citizenship.'
In the next few weeks the Home Office will publish proposals to extend the points based system to citizenship. This will build on the reforms to citizenship in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act, providing even greater controls over the number of people who want to settle permanently in the UK. It will allow for a more flexible approach with the ability to raise and lower the threshold depending on the needs of the UK.
Notes to editors
The UK Border Agency (new window) was established in April 2008 with a budget of over £2bn and 25,000 staff that work in local communities, at the border and in 135 countries around the world.
The Act also enshrines in law a duty on the UK Border Agency to ensure that it safeguards and promotes the welfare of children in all of its work. The UK government has also signed and ratified the UN convention on the rights of the child.
The provisions in relation to the common travel area - to prevent abuse of the UK and the Republic of Ireland border by third-country nationals – did not form part of the final Act. They will be brought back to parliament at the first possible opportunity.
Agresión racista en Belfast contra inmigrantes rumanos
Veinte familias de etnia gitana dejan sus casas tras ser atacados con botellas y ladrillos
WALTER OPPENHEIMER | Londres 17/06/2009
Un total de 115 ciudadanos rumanos de etnia gitana -incluido un bebé nacido hace cinco días- tuvieron que refugiarse el martes por la noche en una iglesia del sur de Belfast tras sufrir varios días de acoso racista. Irlanda del Norte ha vivido un incremento de los incidentes racistas en los últimos años, en parte por el aumento de la población inmigrante tras el fin de los disturbios entre católicos y protestantes y en parte porque algunos grupos de la población han dirigido a los extranjeros el sectarismo que antes mostraban contra sus conciudadanos del bando opuesto.
Las 20 familias afectadas por los ataques (les arrojaron botellas y ladrillos) pasaron ayer el día en un centro municipal y por la tarde fueron trasladadas a residencias ahora desocupadas en la cercana Universidad de Queens, donde estarán durante una semana. Aunque algunos de los rumanos atacados quieren volver a su país, las autoridades confían en encontrarles una residencia alternativa en Belfast para evitar que su marcha cause un mal precedente que pueda ser imitado por quienes se oponen a los inmigrantes.
Los ataques fueron condenados tanto por el primer ministro británico, Gordon Brown, como por el ministro principal adjunto de Irlanda del Norte, Martin McGuinness. La policía local, que pareció admitir que no ha actuado con la rapidez debida en este conflicto, descartó que los incidentes fueran orquestados por un grupo paramilitar lealista.
El Ulster acoge desde hace varias generaciones un nutrido grupo de inmigrantes indios, chinos y vietnamitas que en los últimos años se ha extendido a otros países. Este año ya se registraron incidentes tras un partido de clasificación para el Mundial de fútbol entre Irlanda del Norte y Polonia.
BBC NEWS | England | London | UK immigrant amnesty 'worth £3bn'
Granting amnesty to long-term illegal immigrants in the UK, could add up to £3bn to the economy, a report has said.
The London School of Economics report said amnesty would not lead to a rise in migration but would raise spending on welfare services and housing.
About 618,000 people are illegally in the UK of which 442,000 are in London.
London Mayor Boris Johnson commissioned the study and said it proved immigrants were "far from a financial burden" and had highlighted "long overdue facts".
“ This new report has introduced some long overdue facts, hard evidence and academic rigour into a debate which has far too often been dominated by myth, anecdote and hearsay ”
Boris Johnson
The study found that if a five-year residency plan was introduced 67% of illegal immigrants would be eligible to live in the UK.
Mr Johnson said: "This new report has introduced some long overdue facts, hard evidence and academic rigour into a debate which has far too often been dominated by myth, anecdote and hearsay.
"So, far from a financial burden, as some suggest, this new research has found an amnesty could be worth up to £3bn a year to the country's economy.
"The study also demolishes the argument that an amnesty would inevitably lead to increased migration to the UK and identifies effective border controls as the vital factor in controlling and deterring illegal immigration."
'No amnesty'
Previously Immigration Minister Phil Woolas had said the mayor's call for amnesty was "naive" and would lead to more trafficking of people.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The policy on an amnesty for illegal immigrants remains unchanged and is very clear - there will be no amnesty, those here illegally should go home.
"We have a proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those who truly need our help, but to grant an amnesty would create a significant pull factor to the UK and would undermine the asylum system as a whole."
According to the National Audit Office, the deportation of all illegal immigrants would cost the UK £4.7bn.
Since 1998 111,265 illegal entrants have been deported, at the cost to the UK of £11,000 per person.
The Independent: Languages test for suspect asylum-seekersJune 16, 2009
By David Hughes, Press Association
Asylum seekers claiming to come from Palestine or Kuwait will face being tested on their own language in a bid to weed out bogus applications under changes announced by ministers today.
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said a "significant proportion" of Palestinian and Kuwaiti claims were actually from other nationalities.
The change follows a similar effort to tighten up restrictions on Somali asylum applications.
In a written statement to MPs, Mr Woolas said: "Language analysis carried out for some Somali asylum applicants demonstrates that significant proportions of those tested have claimed to be of a nationality, or from a region or grouping, that is not their own in order to try to gain residence in this country.
"We are aware that a significant proportion of Palestinian and Kuwaiti claims also are from other nationalities.
"This new authorisation will assist the Secretary of State to make decisions in individual Palestinian and Kuwaiti cases, and to ascertain the extent of abuse within these nationalities."
Mr Woolas said the Home Secretary could take a refusal to be tested into account when determining a case.
The new power will be reviewed in April 2010.
Management of asylum applications report | Parliament News
16 June 2009
Public Accounts Committee today publishes a report looking at the UK Border Agency's management of asylum applications.
* Report: Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency
* Public Accounts Committee
Edward Leigh MP, Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, today said:
"It is in the interest of neither applicants for asylum nor the taxpayer that applications for asylum take a long time to be concluded. The new programme for managing applications, the New Asylum Model, has brought a lot of improvements to the management of new cases. But the process of coming to decisions on whether to grant asylum is still too slow. Following a surge in applications in 2007, the backlog of cases where a decision had not yet been made doubled in a year, to 8,700 in the second quarter of 2008.
"Over and above this backlog, there is the one of existing ‘legacy’ cases which predated the New Asylum Model. It is welcome that the Home Office has given a firm commitment to this Committee that it will meet its target of concluding all of these legacy cases by 2011, especially since some of these old cases might be difficult to resolve.
"Giving priority to the removal of foreign national prisoners has reduced the amount of detention space available for failed asylum applicants. The result is that few failed asylum applicants are yet being removed from the UK under the New Asylum Model. The Home Office is certainly finding it difficult to achieve the tipping point, where more failed applicants are removed than there are unfounded applications.
"In order to free up detention spaces, the Home Office must review all foreign national prisoner cases at the start of their sentences, to prepare for the immediate removal of those recommended for deportation on their release from custody. The enforced removal of a failed asylum applicant is also often made very difficult by obstacles outside the Home Office’s control. The Department needs to work with the Courts, foreign government and other bodies to make the process of enforced removal more tractable."
Mr Leigh was speaking as the Committee published its 28th report of this Session which, on the basis of evidence from the Home Office, examined its progress to date, and on the obstacles to faster, more accurate completion of cases.
In 2006, our predecessors published a critical report on the shortcomings in the removals system, making wide-ranging recommendations. Revisiting the subject of asylum applications and removals some three years on, we are pleased to note that the Home Office (the Department) has responded positively and progress has been made. The Department has implemented the New Asylum Model, whereby a Case Owner manages all new asylum cases from application to conclusion, at which stage the applicant is either allowed to stay in the UK or returned to their country of origin. We are also pleased to note that, as a direct result of implementing our recommendations, the Department also established a separate process to clear the backlog of 400,000–450,000 legacy cases unresolved at the introduction of the New Asylum Model.
The New Asylum Model has resulted in the Department reaching an initial decision more quickly and in cases being concluded faster than in 2006. We also have the Department’s firm assurance that the legacy cases will be cleared by 2011.
Amongst the many cases awaiting completion, there are undoubtedly many people who genuinely need humanitarian protection because they are fleeing oppression, as well as those with more tenuous claims to asylum. The Department still faces significant challenges, however, in bringing these cases to a prompt conclusion. Faster, more accurate completion of cases reduces both uncertainty for the applicant and the cost to the tax payer. The Department is halfway through its programme of stepped improvements in the time taken to conclude cases. Removal poses a challenge. It will be another four years before the Department has the total of 4,000 detention spaces that it needs to increase removals to optimum levels, and before its new IT system is fully operational. The Department also needs to work with the Courts, foreign governments and other bodies to bring about the legal changes and diplomatic solutions needed to resolve obstacles to removal that lie outside its control.
Debate on Oakington immigration removal centre | Parliament News
8 June 2009
Labour MP, Diane Abbott, opens House of Commons adjournment debate on Oakington immigration removal centre in Cambridgeshire.
* Commons Hansard: Oakington immigration removal centre
* About Parliament: Adjournment debates
An adjournment debate is simply a way in the Commons of having a general debate without requiring the House to vote.
There is a half-hour adjournment debate at the end of each day’s sitting. Members apply for an adjournment debate to the Speakers Office. Subject matters of adjournment debates are varied; examples include debates on defence issues, pensions and combating benefit fraud. The Speaker chooses Thursday’s subject; for other days, MPs are selected by ballot.
The MP who tabled the relevant adjournment debate is called to speak and a Minister will reply. The MP has no right of response, but can intervene in the Minister’s speech if he or she is willing to allow it (called ‘giving way’).
The Independent: Prejudice and ignorance skew public view of asylum-seekersJune 8, 2009
Prejudice and ignorance skew public view of asylum-seekers
By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter
Attitudes to asylum-seekers in Britain are being skewed by gross over-estimation of the numbers of refugees reaching the United Kingdom and prejudice towards immigrants among young people, the British Red Cross says today.
Nearly a quarter of people believe there are more than 100,000 asylum applications every year – about four times the annual figure of 25,670, and just 5 per cent of Britons know to within 10,000 how many refugees come to the UK every year, according to a survey carried out for the charity.
The Red Cross said that the study, published to coincide with a campaign to combat prejudice against refugees, highlights a "reality gap" among Britons on the issue of asylum. It said most people saw refugees as poorly educated and believed that the UK offered shelter to far more migrants that it does.
Of particular concern was the negative image of asylum-seekers among the 18-24 age group, where nearly two-thirds chose the word "uneducated" and 33 per cent used "hostile" when asked to describe refugees.
A spokesman for the Red Cross said: "There is a clear gap between what people think is the level of asylum-seekers entering the UK and the reality. They are getting figures from the media and basing their opinions on perceptions that are not true. The number of refugees coming to the UK is far lower than most people think. It is interesting to note that when people are asked to describe refugees and base their opinions on people they know or have met then you find many more positive associations."
The charity said its survey of 1,000 people, conducted by ICM, had uncovered a succession of misconceptions about asylum-seeker numbers, including a belief that Britain had a disproportionate share of the world's refugees.
85 per cent do not know how many asylum-seekers are hosted by the UK.
On average, people think that the UK is home to 24 per cent of all asylum-seekers – eight times the actual figure of 3 per cent. Of those surveyed, just 3 per cent could give the correct percentage while 85 per cent said they simply did not know.
Nick Scott-Flynn, the head of the British Red Cross refugee service, said: "We provide sanctuary to far fewer people than many developing countries which are less obviously able to cope, such as Chad, Tanzania and Pakistan. We should be proud of the UK's role offering refuge to people in desperate need of safety, and celebrate the skills, talents and contributions that these people bring to the UK."
23 per cent think Britain receives 100,000 asylum applications a year.
The current total is 25,670. Home Office figures show that applications have fallen from a peak of 84,130 in 2002 to 25,670 last year. But public perception has yet to catch up, with the average person estimating there are 58,000 new arrivals each year – more than double the 2008 figure.
The study found that men are twice as likely as women to believe that asylum applications exceed 100,000 a year. Only five per cent of those interviewed could name the correct range of 20,000 to 30,000, meaning that 95 per cent of people live in ignorance of the level of refugees coming into Britain.
34 per cent believe refugees are jobless or unskilled workers.
Perceptions of the skills offered by asylum-seekers are also out of step with reality. Seven per cent thought refugees were mostly jobless while 27 per cent they were unskilled, blue-collar workers from the farming and manufacturing sectors in their countries of origins. Only 10 per cent of asylum-seekers were judged to have been in higher education when in fact about a third of refugees have university degrees or professional qualifications.
92 per cent attach positive attributes to refugees but one in two also sees them in a negative light.
Despite ignorance of asylum figures, Britons broadly see refugees in a positive light. When asked to pick from a list of character traits, more than nine out of ten chose at least one of the following words: hardworking, intelligent, brave and friendly. Forty-eight 48 per cent said refugees were either uneducated, hostile, lazy or cowardly.
Negative descriptions rose dramatically among young people with 61 per cent choosing "uneducated" compared to an average across all age groups of 29 per cent. A third of those in the 18-24 age group chose "hostile" with another 18 per cent seeing refugees as "lazy" and 12 per cent as "cowardly".
Charities hope to reverse the trend with a campaign ahead of Refugee Week this month which will encourage people to replace their photographs on social networking sites such as Facebook with an image of an asylum-seeker.
Titcha Kanjanda, 38, who fled Zimbabwe and is now studying for a social care degree in Portsmouth, said refugees needed to be allowed to feel proud of themselves by contributing to their adoptive country. She said: "I didn't want to leave but circumstances forced me to. I'm not a liability, I want to be an asset. I want people to realise 'she's a refugee, but she's working towards the development of this country'."
allAfrica.com: Uganda: Ugandan Gay Sues UK Over Deportation
3 June 2009
Kampala — THE British government is facing legal action after it forcibly deported a gay Ugandan asylum-seeker when his case was still under review.
John Bosco Nyombi is now seeking damages from the government after British judges ruled that his removal was "manifestly unlawful" and ordered his return.
Speaking for the first time since arriving back in the UK, Nyombi told The Independent newspaper: "The last year has been torture. I've never done anything wrong and what the Home Office did was illegal. All the things I went through are because of them." The 38-year-old first fled to Britain in 2001, claiming that being gay put his life in danger in Uganda.
His case was still under review when on September 18, 2008 he was taken by four security men and bundled on to a flight to Entebbe Airport.
When he tried to resist and asked for a lawyer, the British officers allegedly dragged him by the handcuffs and struck him in the groin and shoulder.
Just two days earlier, Nyombi's face had been on the front page of a Ugandan newspaper "outing" him as a homosexual and reporting on his fight to stay in the UK.
"Within moments of his arrival in Kampala, he was abandoned by the British officers, leaving him to be interrogated by border Police who had seen the article," the British media said.
"He managed to escape a first arrest after paying a bribe. He then endured six months in hiding before the Home Secretary secured his release, getting caught twice and put into prison where he was violently beaten by both staff and inmates for his sexuality."
Nyombi, who was known as "Mr X" while his lawyers fought to take him back to the UK, is back in Southampton staying with a friend. Once his immigration papers come through, his old job as a caretaker in a local nursing home is waiting for him.
The Independent: Bullying found at immigration centreJune 2, 2009
By Robert Verkaik, Home Affairs Editor
Allegations that asylum seekers are being bullied by immigration staff are not being properly investigated, a report into Britain's flagship immigration removal centre has found.
The use of reasonable force to control detainees at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, near Heathrow Airport, had increased and was not always well managed, Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons also found in a report published today. In the three months before the inspection, there had been 179 complaints ranging from bullying to poor food.
Dame Anne said: "...we found little improvement at Colnbrook since our last visit... there was evidence of the centre taking inappropriate steps to manage some of the challenges; there were examples of separation being misused and the vulnerable persons unit was not fit for purpose."
The centre, run by Serco, holds male detainees in the most secure facility in the detention estate. Dame Anne said: "A significant number of complaints, including allegations of staff bullying, were not adequately investigated and replies lacked detail."
Dave Woods, head of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said: "In the six months since HMCIP visited, safety, security and purposeful activity for detainees have improved significantly."
BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Visa warning from private schools
Tighter visa rules to stop bogus colleges are causing problems for private schools seeking foreign pupils, says the Independent Schools Council.
ISC chief executive David Lyscom will tell its annual conference that regulations "must be proportionate".
New rules monitoring colleges which want to recruit foreign students also apply to private schools.
The government said the rules on immigration had to be consistently applied to all education institutions.
"The system is designed to prevent dodgy students and institutions from operating and so protect Britain. The rules are firm but fair - and they apply to everyone," said a UK Border Agency spokesperson.
“ The key message for our politicians is that regulation must be focused and proportionate ”
David Lyscom Independent Schools Council
Mr Lyscom will tell the Independent Schools Council conference that independent schools are well placed to weather the recession - but their greater concern is excessive regulation.
"The greatest threat is probably not economic, but legislative. Regulation, inspection and monitoring are essential to protect children and guarantee standards," Mr Lyscom will tell the conference.
"But the burden needs to be simplified and, where risks are low, reduced.
"A classic example is the new visa regime. Its main aims are to keep potential terrorists and illegal workers out of the UK.
"Its main effect for us is to make it very difficult for Chinese children to come to our schools.
"This cannot be right," he will tell the conference.
"The key message for our politicians is that regulation must be focused and proportionate."
Approved list shrunk
International students wanting to study at UK educational institutions now face greater checks, including a requirement for a biometric identity card.
The restrictions have been imposed in an attempt to stop bogus colleges which have misused the student visa system to provide an immigration route into the UK.
Since the regulations were introduced, the list of institutions approved to recruit overseas students has shrunk considerably.
Mr Lyscom will say the number of pupils in ISC schools rose by 3,000 to January 2009, but will acknowledge the full effects of the recession may not yet have been felt.
He will say reports of private school closures running at one a week "need to be taken with a pinch of salt".
"Even where parents are being squeezed, evidence suggests that school fees are one of the last areas where parents will cut expenditure.
"Unlike holidays, cars and flat screen TVs, educating one's children is not seen as discretionary expenditure."
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Failed asylum seeker back in UK
A failed asylum seeker who had been living in Scotland is back in the UK after attempts to deport her failed.
Fatou Felicity Gaye and her four-year-old son, Arouna, were taken to Dungavel Detention Centre after a dawn raid in Glasgow earlier this month.
They were flown to Ivory Coast on Thursday but turned back after officials there refused them entry.
Ms Gaye and her son are being held at a Home Office facility in London while their case details are clarified.
A spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency said it did not comment on individual cases.
BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Human trafficking gang targeted
Six women, believed to be the victims of human trafficking, have been rescued in Belfast and Londonderry as part of a UK-wide police operation.
Five were rescued in Belfast, and one in Derry during the investigation.
Police said Operation Sleek was aimed at dismantling a Chinese organised crime gang and rescuing their victims.
Three people have been arrested, one in Belfast and two in Worcestershire, on suspicion of human trafficking and controlling prostitution.
A 39-year-old man was arrested in east Belfast and has been taken to Antrim police station.
The two other arrests were made in England by officers from West Mercia Police accompanied by PSNI detectives at properties in the Summerhill area of Kidderminster.
West Midlands Police and PSNI officers also searched a property in Birmingham.
The two suspects, a 40-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, are being brought to Antrim police station for questioning.
Property in Newry, County Down was also searched.
'Vulnerable'
The officer in charge of the operation, Detective Chief Superintendent Essie Adair, said the arrests were part of a co-ordinated operation against human trafficking in the United Kingdom.
"This is nothing more than a modern form of slavery in which vulnerable women are used and abused to make substantial profits for organised crime gangs," he said.
"This particular operation has been a long time in the planning, involving a number of partner agencies and with co-operation from two Chinese victims.
"Police will continue to work with partner agencies to disrupt and dismantle these gangs, wherever and whenever they come to our attention."
The suspected victims are being cared for under arrangements funded by the government with support from the Police Service and delivered by Women's Aid Federation (NI) and the Migrant Helpline.
The UK Human Trafficking Centre, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the UK Borders Agency, Women's Aid, the Migrant Helpline and the Poppy Project were also involved in the multi-agency operation.
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | MSP's plea for asylum raid family
An MSP has written to the home secretary about the case of a mother and her son who were removed from their home in Glasgow in a dawn raid.
The SNP's Christina McKelvie has asked Jacqui Smith to reconsider the decision to deport Fatou Gaye, 38, and four-year-old Arouna to the Ivory Coast.
It is understood they are due to be flown out of the UK on Thursday.
Ms Gaye had an application for asylum rejected in 2005 and has since had five appeals refused.
Arouna Gaye was born in the UK and has been treated for medical problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder which his mother claims was caused by previous interaction with the UK Border Agency.
Ms Gaye and her son were taken to the controversial Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire after immigration officials removed them from their home in Sighthill, Glasgow, on 14 May.
The dawn raid prompted anger among campaigners and politicians as it came days after details were announced of a scheme aimed at ending the detention of young children at Dungavel and improving the treatment of asylum seekers.
In her letter to Jacqui Smith, Ms McKelvie, a Central Scotland MSP, said: "Her Majesty's Government agreed in September of last year to abide by all of the terms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"It can be easily argued that sending this child to Cote d'Ivoire would be a breach of his human rights, but it is indisputable that sending this child to a country he has never been in while he is suffering the after-effects of his encounters with UK agencies is an absolute breach of his human rights - an inhumane act.
She added: "I ask you to withdraw the removal papers that have been served on this family, allow the young child access to the medical treatment he needs and allow the legal procedure to run its full course.
"You have the opportunity to show compassion and common human decency now, and I hope you will take it."
The UK Border Agency said it did not comment on individual cases.
The Gaye family's case was raised in the House of Commons last week.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said: "It is regrettable that on some occasions, people who have not co-operated with the decision of the independent tribunals and courts who otherwise would abscond in their view, do face detention."
R (MM (Burma) and another) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; R (DT (Eritrea)) v Same; [2009] EWCA Civ 442; [2009] WLR (D) 166R (MM (Burma) and another) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
R (DT (Eritrea)) v Same
[2009] EWCA Civ 442; [2009] WLR (D) 166
CA: Laws, Keene, Hooper LJJ: 20 May 2009
A person whose asylum claim had been finally determined in country A against him or her and who made a subsequent claim for asylum in country A came within the ambit of Council Directive 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (“the Reception Directive”) and was therefore able to enjoy the benefits of art 11(2) of that directive and be afforded conditional access to the labour market.
The Court of Appeal so stated when giving reasons (i) for allowing, on 1 April 2009, the appeals of the claimants, MM (Burma) and ZO (Somalia), from the decision of Judge Mackie QC on 25 June 2008 [2008] EWHC 1604 (Admin) dismissing their claims for judicial review of decisions refusing them permission to work several years after they had made as yet undecided applications for asylum subsequent to earlier unsuccessful asylum claims, and (ii) for refusing on the same date the appeal of the defendant, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, from the order of Blake J of 11 December 2008 [2008] EWHC 3064 (Admin) declaring that the refusal of DT’s application for permission to work, which had been made five years after an as yet undetermined application for asylum made subsequent to an earlier unsuccessful asylum application, was, in the light of the delay, a breach of article 8. The Court of Appeal granted DT an extension of time for issuing a respondent’s notice seeking to uphold the decision of Blake J on the grounds that DT fell within the ambit of the Reception Directive. Having announced its decision, the Court of Appeal decided it would be an unnecessary and disproportionate use of the court’s time to hear argument about article 8 and expressed no view as to the correctness of Blake J’s conclusion on that point.
HOOPER LJ said that there was nothing in the wording of the Reception Directive to exclude subsequent asylum applications. The Secretary of State’s strongest argument was the use of the word “reception” in the title and the body of the Directive, but it was accepted that the Reception Directive applied to a first time asylum seeker whose application was made long after his arrival. The definition in art 2(c) referred to an application “in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken” not to a person “in respect of whom a final decision has not yet been taken”. A subsequent asylum seeker, pending a decision on the subsequent application, was a person in respect of whose application a final decision had not yet been taken. The Secretary of State’s argument that the Directive did not include subsequent asylum seekers within its ambit because to do so would allow persons whose applications for asylum had been rejected to easily trigger the provisions of the Directive by making fresh submissions which would need to be analysed to see if they were “fresh claims” under domestic legislation was rejected. The possibility of abuse was recognised and provided for in the terms of the Directive and His Lordship would be loath to adopt a restrictive interpretation because of the administrative problems caused by a backlog. The Reception Directive and Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withholding refugee status (the “Procedures Directive”) were designed to implement a common asylum policy and it would be strange if a definition in the Reception Directive were to be given a different meaning to the very similar wording in the Procedures Directive, it being clear that the Procedures Directive applied to subsequent applications. The Secretary of State did not dispute that if a person who made a subsequent claim for asylum was within the ambit of the Reception Directive, domestic legislation obliged the Secretary of State to grant permission to work if a decision at first instance had not been taken within one year of the presentation of the subsequent application for asylum and that delay could not be attributed to the claimant. ZO and MM’s appeals were allowed and the Secretary of State’s appeal in DT was dismissed but not for the reasons given by Blake J.
LAWS and KEENE LJJ agreed.
Appearances: Richard Wilson QC and Philip Nathan (instructed by Messrs Duncan Lewis) for ZO; Richard Wilson QC and Philip Nathan (instructed by Scudamores) for MM; Michael Fordham QC and Adam Tear, solicitor advocate, (instructed by Messrs Duncan Lewis) for DT; Robin Tam QC and Daniel Beard (instructed by Treasury Solicitor) for the Secretary of State.
Reported by: Elanor Dymott, solicitor
See the case here.
Immigration and asylum statistics released | Home Office
20 May 2009
A series of immigration statistics covering migration from Eastern Europe, asylum applications, removals and voluntary departures were published by the Home Office today.
Work applications from the eight accession countries have fallen to their lowest level since they joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, according to the latest Accession Monitoring Report (new window).
The first three months of 2009
In the first three months of 2009 there were 23,000 applications from workers in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic – down from 48,755 in the same period in 2008. The decrease is mainly explained by a drop in Polish applicants, which fell to 12,000 in the first quarter of 2009 from 32,000 in the same period in 2008.
The statistics also show that the majority of workers coming from the A8 countries in the twelve months to March 2009 are young – 78% were aged between 18 and 34 – and only 8% stated they had dependants living with them in the UK when they registered. In the same year 84% of those registered were working for more than 35 hours per week.
Although applications for jobseekers allowance from A8 nationals rose in Q1 2009, of the 5,561 individuals who made applications, only 1,671 were put forward for further consideration.
The Bulgarian and Romanian Accession Statistics show that applications from these two countries have also fallen to the lowest level since they joined the EU in 2007. There were 610 applications for accession worker cards and 6,205 applications for registration certificates in the first quarter of 2009.
Statement from the Border and Immigration Minister
Phil Woolas said, 'Today’s figures show that immigration levels are balancing as more Eastern Europeans are now leaving the UK to return home. This suggests that increasing prosperity in post Soviet Eastern Europe in the long term can only be beneficial for the UK.
'In addition there are now, according to independent research, around 1.5 million British people working in other countries in the European Union. Nevertheless, the government will continue to do everything it can to ensure that migration works for everyone.'
The control of immigration statistics show that between January and March this year 15,840 people who had no right to be here were removed from the country or departed voluntarily. In the same period in 2008 16,760 people were removed or departed voluntarily.
These statistics also show that the UK continues to receive fewer asylum applications per head of the population than many of its European counterparts. Applications for asylum have increased from 6,595 in the first quarter of 2008 to 8,380 in the same period this year, mainly driven by Zimbabwean applications.
The number of initial decisions made on asylum applications was up 16% from 4,435 in the first three months of 2008 to 5,145 in the same period this year.
'Our border has never been stronger'
Mr Woolas said, 'Our border has never been stronger. Last year we prevented over 28,000 individual attempts to cross the Channel illegally and the number of illegals found in Kent fell by nearly 90%.
'We are making the UK a more hostile place for illegal immigrants through our tough civil penalties regime which has seen fines worth a potential £18 million issued to businesses that have employed people with no right to work.
'Our ability to return those who have no right to be here depends on detaining them and successfully repatriating them. That is why we continue to work closely with the police, build new removal detention centres and secure further agreements with key countries to take their nationals back.'
Asylum intake has remained broadly at the same level over the past four years and it is less than a third of the level when it peaked in 2002. At the end of December the Home Office met its target to conclude 60% of new asylum cases within six months.
BBC NEWS | UK | More Eastern Europeans leaving UK
By Dominic Casciani
BBC News
The number of Eastern Europeans leaving the UK doubled in the year up to September 2008, officials have said.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that more foreign nationals left during the same 12 months than compared with the previous year.
The population is still growing from migration - but the rate has slowed because of the numbers now leaving.
Home Office figures show there was a 27% rise in asylum seekers, but the total is well below record levels.
Over the first three months of 2009, there were 8,380 asylum applications, the highest number since 2004. Including family members, the number of people seeking refuge was 10,285.
While this represents a significant increase, it is below the record levels of approximately 25,000 arrivals every quarter in 2002.
Almost half of the applications were from Zimbabweans and Afghans - with significant numbers of Iraqis, Iranians, Eritreans and Sri Lankans also seeking protection.
Registered workers
Officials use a number of measures to count foreign workers. Provisional figures from the International Passenger Survey, a limited sampling exercise at ports, suggests 56,000 people from eight key Eastern European countries left in the year to September 2008.
That was more than double the 26,000 who left in the previous 12 months - but overall 44,000 more Eastern European workers still arrived than left.
The ONS says that over the year to last September, 720,000 National Insurance numbers were issued to foreign nationals - down 7% on the previous year.
The ONS said the "key factor" in the fall in National Insurance registrations was the decline in applications from eight Eastern European nations.
It said that 265,000 of the National Insurance numbers went to these nationals in the year to September - a fall of 71,000 registrations on the previous year.
Over the same period, the government recorded 180,000 Eastern Europeans joining the Worker Registration Scheme, a means of counting their presence in the UK.
That was down from 223,000 registrations between September 2006 and September 2008.
The most recent provisional figures show that registrations are continuing to fall, said the ONS - totalling 133,000 in the year to March 2009.
The figures do not include self-employed workers who do not need to register.
Overall, an estimated 469,000 Poles remain the largest single group of foreign passport holders living in the UK - although there are many more people born in India and Pakistan who long ago became British citizens.
Separate figures from the Home Office show that almost 16,000 people were removed from the UK in the first three months of 2009 - 6% fewer than in the previous year. The majority of the removals, some 13,000 people, were non-asylum cases. Citizenship figures show that 129,000 people became British during 2008.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas said: "Today's figures show that immigration levels are balancing as more Eastern Europeans are now leaving the UK to return home.
"This suggests that increasing prosperity in post Soviet Eastern Europe in the long term can only be beneficial for the UK."
But Sir Andrew Green of Migrationwatch UK said: "There is a small reduction in net migration. But the key to all of this is the impact of immigration on our population.
"The numbers are quite close to what the ONS expected and that in turn means that the population will go up by 10 million in the next 20 years - and seven million of that will be a result of immigration."
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Boy's detention raised in Commons
The case of a four-year-old boy held at the Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire has been raised in the House of Commons.
Glasgow SNP MP John Mason asked the immigration minister, Phil Woolas, why Arouna Gaye, who has medical problems, had been "imprisoned" there.
He and his mother, Fatou Felicite Gaye, 38, were removed from their home in Glasgow in a dawn raid last Thursday.
Their case has prompted anger among asylum campaigners and politicians.
Their removal to Dungavel came days after measures aimed at ending the detention of children at the controversial centre were announced.
Ms Gaye is from the Ivory Coast but her son was born in Scotland.
It is understood she had an application rejected in 2005 and has since had five appeals refused.
“ It is regrettable that on some occasions, people who have not cooperated with the decision of the independent tribunals and courts who otherwise would abscond in their view, do face detention ”
Phil Woolas Immigration minister
Mr Woolas said he could not discuss the case in detail.
He added: "On the general policy of detaining children, that is of course a last resort and we have indeed the programmes to look at alternatives.
"But it is regrettable that on some occasions, people who have not co-operated with the decision of the independent tribunals and courts who otherwise would abscond in their view, do face detention."
Speaking after raising the matter at Home Office Question Time in the Commons, Mr Mason said: "There is no excuse for the UK Government's actions concerning Fatou Felicite Gaye and her son Arouna.
"This four-year-old has already been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by previous interaction with the Border Agency.
"The UK Government are detaining a child born in Scotland in an immigration centre that is not fit for children."
Pilot project
The mother and son had been due to be deported from the country on Monday.
However, a spokesman for the Unity Centre, which offers advice and aid to asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow, said their flight had been cancelled at the last minute.
He also claimed that the family were detained before their case was officially refused.
He added: "The official letter giving grounds for why Fatou's case should be refused is unusually dated by hand as being written on 14 May 2009, the same day that Fatou was detained at 0645 BST.
"Therefore Fatou and Arouna have not been given any opportunity to return following the refusal of their case."
A pilot project due to launch in June will see failed asylum seekers housed in former council flats in Glasgow before they return to their own countries.
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