According to recently acquired data, a record number of asylum seeker deaths happened in 2024 while they were in the Home Office’s care. There were fifty-one deaths in all, eleven more than the previous year and more than twelve times as many as there were in 2019, when there were only four deaths reported. Given the increase in the number of asylum seekers in the UK, the problem of asylum seeker deaths has gained significant attention.
After discovering a mistake, the Home Office was forced to issue an apology for erroneously reporting only 30 deaths for 2024. The true number of deaths, which included 21 additional fatalities, was revealed after a correction was made. “It has been brought to our attention that the information provided contained incomplete data. I would like to apologize for this error,” an official from the Home Office’s freedom of information team stated.
What Causes the Absence of Scrutiny and Accountability?
The situation deeply concerns Deborah Coles, head of the charity Inquest, which helps families who have lost loved ones in state care. She described the lack of transparency as “shocking” and pointed to a serious failure in the care of vulnerable individuals. “There is a shocking lack of scrutiny and accountability from the Home Office and a complete disregard for the lives of this vulnerable group. Whether the incorrect data issued by the Home Office is deliberate concealment or incompetence, it shows a shocking disregard for the extremely vulnerable people who died,” Coles said.
What Were the Causes of Death?
While some deaths were attributed to natural causes like disease or old age, some are considered to have been suicides. Charities working with asylum seekers fear that the challenging conditions imposed by the Home Office have negatively impacted the mental health of already vulnerable people. Almost one-third (nine) of the 30 deaths described in the Home Office’s freedom of information response were suspected suicides. A comparable proportion of cases were categorized as “unknown cause,” with some of these also considered to be suicides. Only eight deaths were clearly linked to illness or natural causes.
Were There Issues with the Reporting and Discovery of Some Deaths?
One particularly worrisome scenario involves an Iranian guy who died in March 2024. His decomposing body was discovered a month after his death after a foul stench aroused his housemates in shared living in Colchester, Essex. The Home Office did not comment on whether delays in detecting additional deaths happened, but sources verified that the Iranian man’s body had been undiscovered for an extended period.
Unlike the Ministry of Justice, which releases data on prison deaths, the Home Office does not release data on migrant deaths under its jurisdiction. Human rights and refugee organizations have responded to this by demanding greater transparency. The cross-party home affairs select committee is currently investigating government accommodation for asylum seekers. The organization Asylum Matters is pushing the inquiry to advocate for greater openness concerning asylum seeker fatalities in the Home Office’s care.
Why Are There More Deaths?
Since 2019, when only four deaths were reported, the number of deaths involving asylum seekers has more than doubled in the last five years. Asylum applications have more than doubled during that time, which is in line with a significant rise in these applications.
Who Were Among the 2023 and 2024 Asylum Seekers Who Perished?
Among the names of asylum seekers who have died while in Home Office care in 2023 and 2024, several have been recorded. In December 2023, Leonard Farruku passed away on the Bibby Stockholm barge, possibly from suicide. In January 2024, Claudia Kambanza, a Namibian woman, was stabbed to death in Hull. In April 2023, Amir Safi, a teenage Afghan asylum applicant who claimed to be 16 but who the Home Office considered an adult, lost his life in a car crash on the M1.
What Actions Are Required for Increased Transparency?
Humans for Rights Network spokesperson Maddie Harris, who advocates for juvenile asylum seekers, urged immediate action. She underlined that the precise number of deaths among asylum seekers under its care should be made clear by the Home Office. “The Home Office needs to immediately provide an accurate count of the number of people who have passed away while in the asylum system and in its custody. In contrast to the current state of affairs, which is wholly opaque, this information ought to be made public on a proactive basis, Harris said.
According to the Home Office, statutory partners, such as the police and coroner, regularly look into the deaths to determine the circumstances behind each one. Additionally, officials point out that service providers are supposed to perform routine welfare checks and notify the authorities of any problems.
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