Refugee charity calls for immediate suspension of migrant evictions

Asylum seeker in Glasgow entering his accommodation

The Refugee Survival Trust is calling for the immediate suspension of evictions by Serco, the Home Office housing provider. Reports that vulnerable migrants are having their locks changed are a cause of grave concern, particularly reports that evictions are being targeted at the most vulnerable migrants.

Evicting migrants and making them destitute is inhumane. Even worse is targeting the most vulnerable, in a heatwave and at a weekend, when access to services will be even harder.

This has no place in a Scotland that prides itself on the welcome it provides to people who have fled persecution in other parts of the world.

Serco must immediately suspend evictions. The new Home Secretary, Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, should immediately direct Serco to halt the evictions. The UK must not follow other countries in treating vulnerable migrants so brutally, with such blatant disregard for their human rights.

Cath McGee, Project Manager at Refugee Survival Trust, said: “This is a very worrying development, not least because it places hundreds of people under immediate threat of street homelessness. Serco’s right to evict people by changing their locks and removing their possessions is being challenged in the courts and it is galling that they have chosen to proceed with evictions before these legal cases have been settled.

We are calling upon Serco to suspend evictions with immediate effect and urge anyone who has received a notice to quit or lock change letter to seek immediate advice on their situation.

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For more information, please contact: Cath McGee, Destitute Asylum Seeker Service Manager, The Refugee Survival Trust, +44 (0) 141 353 5602, DASS_Manager@rst.org.uk

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