Connect with us

Features

After Civil Fleet’s FOI, Home Office ordered to release data on five dead people

Published

2 years ago

on

Kindly share this article

A recent release by Civil Fleet, a news blog and podcast focused on the activist-led refugee rescue and support missions in the Mediterranean and across Fortress Europe, says the  Home Office has been ordered to release information it sought to keep secret regarding the at least five people who died in its asylum-seeker accommodation in the first six months of 2023.

A four-month investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office found that the Home Office’s arguments to withhold the information don’t hold up, and that it must disclose the information by April 4.

In July 2023, The Civil Fleet sent a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) to the Home Office asking the following:

1) The number of asylum seekers who died in Home Office accommodation between 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023.

2) The cause and location of each death, as well as their ages, nationalities, and gender.

The Home Office answered the first question in full.

foi-77208-annex-1Download

According to its data at the time, five people died in the Home Office’s outsourced asylum-seeker accommodation in the first six months of 2023.

Suicide was listed as the cause of death for one of the deceased. This happened in March in the Northwest of England. The Home Office’s accommodation there is run by Serco. 

The rest of the deaths were listed as “cause to be confirmed.”

Two people died in accommodations in the South of England, which are run by Clearsprings Ready Homes. One died in April; the other in June.

One person died in March while housed by Serco in the Midlands and East of England.

Another person died in March in Scotland, where Mears Group has been outsourced to run asylum-seeker accommodation.

“It’s been three years since the current asylum policy of refusing to take responsibility for tens of thousands of people’s claims began, but the government still appears to have nothing in place to monitor the true impact of this dire policy,” Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights director Steve Valdez-Symonds told The Civil Fleet.

“With a substantial rise in fatalities in the asylum system already identified, a bare minimum response would have been to record and assess the number and circumstances of these deaths.

“But ministers have chosen not to do that. They do not want to know – or want anyone else to know – the true costs, including to human life, of the policy they keep ratcheting up rather than ever face the fact that it is doing enormous harm.

“The consequences are already utterly dreadful and the longer this continues, the more lives will be ruined, even lost, to a miserable determination on the part of government to simply refuse to fairly and efficiently decide the claims that people make.”

Ann Salter, Freedom from Torture’s head of clinical services northwest, told The Civil Fleet that many of the asylum-seekers who receive clinical treatment with the organisation live in unsafe and unsuitable accommodation – “whether that’s in a hotel, self-contained unit, shared housing or even a shared room.

“Every day we see first-hand the impact that poor quality and hazardous housing has on survivors of torture – cold and damp conditions exacerbate physical harm caused by torture, and unhygienic and mouldy environments can lead to survivors feeling unsafe and so can trigger PTSD symptoms.

“For those who’ve just arrived in the UK and are trying to rebuild their lives, dangerous accommodation can compound an already difficult road to recovery.

“The government must urgently take steps to make sure that survivors and other refugees are housed in decent homes within our communities, where they have proper access to healthcare and other vital services.”

The Home Office’s arguments

The Home Office refused to provide the ages, nationalities and gender of the deceased, despite doing so in 2021, 2022 and early 2023.

Data provided from those requests showed that 46 people died while housed at Home Office asylum-seeker accommodation in 2022 — more than double the 19 deaths in 2021.

In fact, 22 people died in the Home Office’s care in the first six months of 2022 — more than in the whole of 2021.

Excluding five newborn babies, the average age of all those who died in 2022 was 45.2 years old, at a rate of 3.8 deaths per month.

The average age of those who died in 2021 was 40.3 years, with 1.5 deaths per month.

The Home Office justified its decision to keep the information secret this time by citing Section 38(1)(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

That section of the FOIA states that information can be exempt from disclosure if its release “would, or would likely, endanger the physical or mental health of any individual,” or “endanger the safety of any individual.”

The Home Office added that disclosing the ages, nationalities, and gender of those who died in its asylum-seeker accommodation could “identify the deceased and, by association, any family members and other asylum seekers.

“We believe that disclosure of this information would or would be likely to have a detrimental effect on the physical or mental health of any individual and could endanger the safety of any individual.”

The Home Office’s internal review determined in October that the original response was correct. [The Home Office says it aims to complete internal reviews within 20 working day, but this took 57.]

“I have determined that sections 38(1)(a) and (b) have been applied correctly in this instance,” the internal review said.

“I agree with the [original] decision that the balance of the public interest identified lies in favour of non-disclosure of the details relating to the deceased asylum seekers.

“This is because the overall public interest lies in protecting the families of the deceased individuals.”

In response to the Home Office deciding not to provide the ages, nationalities and gender of the dead this time (despite having done so on three prior occasions), the internal reviewer simply said: “Each request must be considered on a case by case basis.”

Enter the ICO

Later in October, The Civil Fleet filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

ic-258210-g2b4-decision-noticeDownload

The ICO’s decision notice, delivered on February 29, revealed that a reconsideration of the Home Office’s “handling of High Profile Notifications, in relation to asylum seekers and related requests made under the FOIA, took place in spring 2023.”

“This included a review of requests relating to deaths of asylum seekers. It explained that a decision was made to adopt a more risk-based approach to the disclosure of additional ‘identifier’ information in relation to deceased persons, based on legal advice and advice from information rights practitioners.”

The Home Office explained to the ICO that “each request is still considered individually on its merits, but it does not disclose detailed information about deceased asylum seekers, from which they could be identified, as a matter of course, as might previously have been the case.”

The decision notice also showed that it is not standard Home Office “practice to locate or attempt to contact a next of kin” of those who die in its care, “unless there is a surviving dependent on the Asylum Support package.”

While recognising that the withheld information may allow relatives or others previously close to the deceased to speculate that the information relates to them, the ICO said it “cannot see how the deceased individuals would be identified with absolute certainty.”

In regard to the Home Office’s information causing “a detrimental effect on the physical or mental health of any individual,” the ICO said it cannot see how this risk “would be a greater impact than causing upset and distress.”

The Commissioner said it was aware that the Home Office has previously disclosed deaths relating to asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation to The Civil Fleet.

“The Commissioner would expect that, were there any realistic risk of endangerment to any individual’s physical or mental health, the Home Office would have been able to evidence this after that information had been disclosed,” the ICO said.

“No actual evidence of any endangerment resulting from previous disclosure has been presented to the Commissioner.

“The Commissioner is therefore not persuaded that the Home Office’s arguments are sufficient to demonstrate a causal relationship between the endangerment to the physical or mental health of any individual and the disclosure of the requested information.

“He therefore finds that section 38(1)(a) of the FOIA is not engaged and the withheld information should be disclosed.”

The Home Office has until April 4 (“35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice”) to disclose all the requested information.

“Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court,” the ICO said.

The Home Office has the right to appeal against the ICO’s decision notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights).

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Features

UN appoints new senior leadership for UNHCR

Published

3 days ago

on

July 19, 2026

By

Kindly share this article

The United Nations has announced a new set of senior appointments to the leadership of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), with Secretary-General António Guterres naming Tressa Rae Finerty as Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Antón Leis García as Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, and Edem Wosornu as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

The appointments, announced on Saturday, are expected to take effect in the coming weeks.

The three officials will occupy the most senior positions within UNHCR, supporting the High Commissioner in leading the agency’s global response to the protection and assistance of refugees, stateless persons and other people forced to flee their homes.

Welcoming the appointments, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih expressed confidence that the incoming officials would strengthen the agency’s response to the growing global displacement crisis.

“I warmly welcome these appointments and look forward to working closely with Tressa, Anton and Edem,” Salih said.

“Their leadership, experience and commitment will be invaluable as UNHCR responds to displacement challenges around the world. Together, we will work to continue strengthening protection, expanding opportunities for self-reliance and pursuing lasting solutions that help refugees rebuild their lives with dignity.”

Finerty, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Geneva and Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State. Her diplomatic career has also included postings at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York and embassies in Malaysia, Iraq, Armenia and Thailand. In addition, she has taught refugee policy at New York University and Georgetown University.

Leis García currently heads the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Spain’s development and humanitarian agency. He has previously held senior positions at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Office of the President of the Spanish Government, and international financial institutions including the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

Wosornu currently serves as Director of the Crisis Response Division at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and chairs the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Emergency Directors Group. She has held several senior headquarters and field positions within OCHA and began her United Nations career as an intern at UNHCR before working in the private legal sector in the United Kingdom.

The newly appointed officials will replace Kelly T. Clements, Deputy High Commissioner; Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations; and Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, whose terms are coming to an end.

Paying tribute to the outgoing leaders, Salih praised their contributions to the agency’s humanitarian mission.

“The organization owes a profound debt of gratitude to Kelly, Raouf and Ruven for their exceptional service and dedication,” he said. “Their leadership has strengthened UNHCR’s ability to protect and assist millions of displaced and stateless people around the world.”

Continue Reading

Features

Sixth batch of Nigerians stranded in South Africa return home

Published

1 week ago

on

July 13, 2026

By

Kindly share this article

The final batch of 40 stranded Nigerians evacuated from South Africa has arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, bringing to a close the Federal Government’s evacuation exercise that returned a total of 1,174 citizens.

The returnees landed on Friday night aboard a chartered Air Peace flight, marking the sixth and final phase of the evacuation programme.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the exercise was carried out through six flights operated by Air Peace and ValueJet.

According to the commission, the first five batches brought home 258, 266, 262, 282 and 66 Nigerians, while the final chartered Air Peace flight evacuated the remaining 40 stranded citizens.

Balogun said the returnees expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for approving the evacuation from South Africa. They also thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Acting Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Temitope Alexander-Ajayi, and NiDCOM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, for facilitating their safe return.

The evacuees were received at the airport by NiDCOM officials, who also announced a series of support packages from government agencies, corporate organisations and individuals.

According to the statement, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State approved a grant of N1 million for each returnee from the state. Telecommunications company MTN also donated free SIM packs with N50,000 worth of data and pledged to credit each returnee’s bank account with N100,000.

Officials from the Edo and Delta State governments similarly announced assistance for their indigenes among the evacuees.

The commission added that the JAAL Foundation pledged empowerment support for 50 female returnees, while the General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Dr Chibuzor Gift Chinwe, was commended for providing free accommodation for about 52 returnees, skills acquisition opportunities for their families and free education for their children up to university level.

The returnees also acknowledged Pastor Bolaji Idowu of Harvesters Church for donating N100,000 each to 66 evacuees, while real estate firm Cruxstone provided financial support to the first batch of returnees.

Balogun said officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other security agencies were present at the airport to receive and document the returnees.

“The returnees were full of gratitude for the donations, support and warm welcome received,” the statement said.

Continue Reading

Features

EU Pact offers hope for better migration management and fairer asylum systems- IOM, UNHCR

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 9, 2026

By

Kindly share this article

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the UN Migration Agency, IOM have welcomed the entry into force today of the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum as an opportunity to move beyond crisis-driven responses and implement a more predictable, fair and effective approach to the issues across Europe.

EU Member States should seize this moment to strengthen migration management and refugee protection while advancing solidarity and responsibility-sharing in line with European values and international obligations, the agencies’ chiefs said.

“The Pact’s entry into full effect today is an important step toward a more predictable and coherent European migration system. What matters now is steady implementation over time that is effective, humane, sustainably resourced and grounded in cooperation,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration. “The priority is turning the reforms into practical results for States, communities, and people on the move.”

The Pact aims to make EU asylum systems more efficient and consistent, offering a structured framework for Member State cooperation. This can reduce backlogs while maintaining the quality of assessments, provide greater certainty for asylum-seekers, and enable refugees to begin rebuilding their lives and contributing to their communities sooner.

“This Pact is an important step in the right direction, advancing shared responsibility and more predictable, sustainable approaches across the European Union,” said Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “UNHCR stands ready to support all Member States in strengthening asylum systems – ensuring access to protection for those in need, upholding human rights and dignity, and enabling safe, lawful and dignified returns for those not in need of international protection.”

IOM and UNHCR welcome the EU’s renewed focus on partnerships with all affected countries. Reducing irregular movements means addressing root causes, ensuring access to protection, tackling smuggling networks, and enabling safe, regular pathways. The organizations will continue to support route-based approaches that ensure policies deliver on protection, dignity and shared responsibility, while contributing to sustainable solutions that benefit both countries and communities along migration routes.

UNHCR and IOM welcome several key elements of the Pact, including earlier identification of people with specific needs, strengthened legal assistance, and new independent monitoring mechanisms at external borders. Returns of those with no legal right to stay must be both effective and humane. Alongside enforcement, they should ensure access to informed voluntary return, early case management, and reintegration support, working with countries of origin, transit and first asylum as part of a balanced approach that upholds dignity and fundamental rights.

These measures can help ensure that asylum processing and return procedures are faster and fairer, reducing uncertainty for asylum-seekers while strengthening public confidence in the migration and asylum system.

UNHCR and IOM stress that implementation will be the decisive test. Procedures must be carried out with adequate safeguards to ensure that no one is returned or transferred to a situation where they may face persecution, conflict or other forms of serious harm.

Continue Reading

Trending