CONCERNS have been raised about the safety of a Glasgow-based asylum seeker said to have been detained and taken to England to deny him legal assistance.
Abdullah Salimi, 21, from Springburn, is said to have reported at the immigration centre in the city at around 10am on Tuesday morning.
His MP Anne McLaughlin said he was then taken on a 10-hour journey to England, which she suspects was a ploy to prevent him from claiming legal aid.
The No Evictions Network anti-deportation group has claimed he was given notice in 2022 he may be deported to Rwanda.
READ MORE: Home Office releases celebratory video of Rwanda detentions
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday during a statement on the advancement of the Government’s Rwanda plan – which is expected to commence properly in just over two months’ time – McLaughlin said Salimi had also been denied his mobile phone.
She told The National she believed Salimi had been removed to the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre on the outskirts of London.
She said she had been stonewalled by the Home Office when attempting to make enquiries about his wellbeing and the reason for his detention.
McLaughlin (below) said: “I went to the Home Office this morning, I emailed the Home Office last night.
“They refused to give me any information. I went with this letter for one of his colleagues and they refused to take the letter.
“I am his MP, I have got the right to know what is going on in his life and the right to try to represent him. Why am I being denied that and why is he being denied the rights that you enjoyed at the age of 21?”
Junior Home Office minister Tom Pursglove replied: “I would make the point that I am a British citizen who is in this country legally and the fact is, it is right […] that people are detained on a legal basis for the purposes of removal under this policy. But there are always safeguards around that.”
He said the Home Office would “look very carefully at any concerns that she wishes to raise”.
READ MORE: UK Government sends first asylum seeker to Rwanda under voluntary scheme
Pursglove (above) added: “I recognise that she is entirely opposed to the policy objective that we are seeking to advance, there is a principled disagreement there.
“She thinks I’m wrong, I think that she is wrong about this but on those specific points if she’d like to share them with me I will gladly ensure that she receives a formal response.”
It comes after it was revealed the Home Office had sent an asylum seeker to Rwanda for the first time on Monday, but under a voluntary scheme which is separate from the forced removal policy.
The department released a video on Wednesday showing immigration officers rounding up asylum seekers for deportation as it celebrated the beginning of detentions ahead of people being deported to the central African nation.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Now that the Safety of Rwanda Act has passed and our Treaty with Rwanda ratified, Government is entering the final phase of operationalising this landmark policy to tackle illegal migration and stop the boats.
“This includes detaining people in preparation for the first flight, which is set to take off to Rwanda in 10-12 weeks.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further on operational activity.”
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