Latest asylum statistics published
The latest asylum statistics for the last three months of 2008 show that the removal of those people who have had their asylum claims rejected is down by 16% compared to 2007.
30% of those applying for asylum were granted refugee status or humanitarian protection. 25% of appeals were successful.
In response to the latest figures, Jonathan Ellis from the Refugee Council said: “These figures demonstrate a very worrying trend: poor decision-making leading to people having their claims refused but who can’t be sent home. Many are left homeless and destitute, without any welfare support or permission to work to support themselves.”
“This enforced destitution must end. The answer, of course, is in better decision-making – still nearly a quarter of appeals are successful, which shows how poor initial decisions still are.”
Full Refugee Council press release: Refugee Council response to asylum statistics out today
BBC News: East European worker influx slows
Guardian: Number of eastern European migrants falls 40% as UK recession bites
Binyam Mohammed returns to the UK
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohammed returned to the UK amidst claims he was tortured during his detention. Mohammed was granted residency in the UK as a refugee from Ethiopia when he was 16.
The Independent: Coming home: the last Briton in Guantanamo
European Commission proposes asylum agency
A regulatory agency to help EU countries dealing with refugees and support practical co-operation between countries through on-call support teams has been proposed by the European Commission.
UNHCR has urged the EU to make sure refugees are received in proper conditions.
EUobserver.com: EU to set up asylum agency
Judge rules deportation of gay man seeking asylum unlawful
A High Court judge has ordered the Home Secretary to return a man to the UK. The judge ruled that the UK Border Agency had effectively denied the man the right to seek legal advice before being placed on a plane back to his homeland.
The man had claimed asylum based on the fear of persecution due to his sexuality.
“Justice requires he should, if possible, be brought back to this country so that he can make his claim as effectively as he can,” judge Sir George Newman ruled.
BBC News: Return gay man to UK, Smith told
The Independent: Deporting gay asylum-seeker ‘was unlawful’
Scottish football chief says refugees should be allowed to play for national teams
The chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, Gordon Smith, has forwarded proposals to FIFA - and the football associations of England, Wales and Northern Ireland - to change the rules on eligibility for international football.
Currently a player’s ability to play for a national side is decided through their birthplace or family – through parents’ or grandparents’ nationality. The SFA’s proposals would see players who have been educated in Scotland for five years and have a British passport able to play for the national team, much like rules currently used in Germany.
Smith said: "We're trying to take away racism and sectarianism, and this is something else we can do. We want to say to people 'you consider yourself Scottish and now we do too'."
Sunday Mail: Gordon Smith: Asylum seekers should be eligible to play for Scotland
