Man Dies in G4S Ambulance Due To 'Insufficient' Staff Training
G4S manage Brook House IRC and Tinsley House IRCs
A double amputee died when his unsecured wheelchair tipped over backwards as he was being transported to hospital in an ambulance operated by under-fire outsourcing firm G4S. An inquest jury found that the driver and staff of the security firm had not received sufficient training to move patients safely between their homes, hospitals and clinics.
Retired newsagent Palaniappan Thevarayan, 47, suffered fatal head injuries when his wheelchair came loose from the floor clamps in the back of the vehicle taking him to St Helier Hospital, in Sutton, Surrey, from a dialysis centre in Epsom hospital in May 2011. The jury at Westminster Magistrates Court this week heard that driver John Garner, who had worked for the company since 2005, and fellow G4S staff had not had their manual handling training updated since 2009.
<> Jonathan Brown, Independent, Friday 08 March 2013
Stop the Deportation of Hassanat and her 3 Daughters
Hassanat Omeneke Aliyu and her three daughters, long term residents of Newcastle upon Tyne, were snatched from their home on Wednesday 6th March at 7:00am by UKBA officers and taken against their will to Cedars Pre-departure Accommodation.
The Home Office have booked a flight to deport the family to Nigeria on Virgin Atlantic Flight VS651 on Saturday 9th March @ 22:20 pm, from London Heathrow to Lagos - Full background here . . . .
How you can help:
1) Please Email/Phone/Fax, Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic and ask him not to carry Hassanat and her three daughters due to be forcibly removed from the UK on Virgin Atlantic Flight VS651 on Saturday 9th March @ 22:20 pm from London Heathrow to Lagos. Download Model letter <HassanatVA.doc>.
Richard Branson
Virgin Atlantic Customer Relations
PO Box 747 Dunstable LU6 9AH
Head Office: 0844 811 0000
Fax: 0844 209 8708
customer.services@fly.virgin.com
Facebook Virgin Atlantic: <>
https://www.facebook.com/virginatlantic?ref=ts
Facebook Richard Branson - <>
http://www.facebook.com/RichardBranson
2. Please fax/Email, Secretary of State for the Home Office, Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP. Ask her to exercise her discretionary powers to stop the flight, and release Hassanat Omeneke Aliyu and her three daughters from detention and grant them protection in the UK. Download model letter <HassanatOmenekeAliyuTM.doc> or alternatively write your own one. Please remember to quote Hassanat Omeneke Aliyu 's Home Office Reference number in any correspondence: A1432864/5
Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office,
2 Marsham St
London SW1 4DF
Fax: 020 7035 4745
Emails: pscorrespondence@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
3) Email/Fax Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister online: Ask him to intervene with the Home Secretary Theresa May to stop the forced removal of Hassanat Omeneke Aliyu and her three daughters. Download model letter <HassanatOmenekeAliyuNickCleg.doc>. You can copy, amend or alternatively write your own one. Please remember to quote Hassanat Omeneke Aliyu 's Home Office Reference number in any correspondence: A1432864/5
Nick Clegg - Deputy Prime Minister's Office
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
Correspondence Section:
Tel: 020 7276 0527
Fax: 020 7276 0514
pscorrespondence@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
*****************************************
Please let the campaign know of any actions:
Please let the Campaign know of any actions
TCAR <tynesidecarn@yahoo.co.uk>
Justice for Immigrants! Freedom for Refugees! Together we are Stronger!
Tyneside Community Action Against Racism (TCAR)
Sri Lanka: Questions From The Killing Fields
After the showing of the documentary No Fire Zone in the Palais des Nations in Geneva yesterday, the Sri Lankan ambassador denounced it and criticised the UN human rights council for permitting the event to take place in a United Nations building. His speech was received in complete silence by a gathering which included a number of diplomats who are in Geneva to take part in the current session of the council, which is due to discuss Sri Lanka's human rights record. That silence, Sri Lanka's critics would say, was an eloquent one.
It certainly confirms at the very least that Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's contention that no significant war crimes were committed by the government side toward the end of the civil war in 2009 is widely doubted. The film, the third from Channel 4 to focus on alleged atrocities and illegal killings during the final weeks of the conflict, will be shown here later this year. TV documentaries do not constitute absolute proof, but they do raise questions that need answering, as do reports by such organisations as Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group, and from within the UN system itself.
Read more: Editorial, The Guardian, <> Friday 1 March 2013 |
'Shameful' Failure To Tackle Slavery/Human Trafficking in the UK
Ministers, the police and social workers have been accused of a "shocking" failure to prevent the spread of modern slavery in the UK, leading to sexual exploitation, forced labour and the domestic servitude of adults and children from across the world.
Describing government ministers as "clueless" in their response to tackling human trafficking, both into and within the UK, the most exhaustive inquiry yet conducted into the phenomenon concludes that the approach to eradicating modern slavery is fundamentally wrong-headed. Instead of helping vulnerable victims who are trapped into forms of slavery after being trafficked from overseas, the legal system prosecutes many for immigration offences.
Inquiry outlines 80 recommendations, including appointing an independent commissioner and new legislation to protect victims
Read more: <>The Observer, 09/03/13
Children Entering/Leaving Detention Januayr/December 2012
Altogether 226 children entered and left detention January through December 2012
121 children entered and left Cedars, 66 were removed from the UK, 55 (45.4%) were returned to the community.
There were 3 children leaving Cedars in 2012 who were monitored under *ACDT (Self-Harm at Risk) , none requiring medical treatment.
83 children entered and left Tinsley House IRC, 41 were removed, 42 (50.6%) were released into the community.
There were no children leaving Tinsley House in 2012 who were monitored under ACDT
22 children entered Other IRC or STHF, 2 were removed from the UK, 20 (90.9%) were released into the community.
Over all 117 children 51.7% were released from detention
*Assessment and Care of Residents and Teamwork is a system used for monitoring residents at Cedars considered to be at risk of self harm and has been adapted from Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT). ACDT is operated across the rest of the UK Border Agency detention estate and is modelled on that used by the Prison Service. It is a care planning system whereby staff from all areas work together to create a safe and caring environment and provide individual care to residents.
Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC) COI Update Volume 52
This document provides an update of Country Guidance case law and UKBA publications and developments in refugee producing countries between
17/02/2013 and 03/03/2013 - Volume 52 <> here . . .
Garden Court Chambers - Immigration Law Bulletin - Issue 314
Removals and Voluntary Departures January/December 2012
In 2012, the number of enforced removals from the UK decreased by 4% to 14,435 from 15,063 in 2011.
The number of passengers refused entry at port and who subsequently departed fell 14% in 2012 to 13,529 from 15,700 in 2011. This continues an overall fall in these figures between 2004 (36,167) and 2009 (29,162), followed by more rapid decreases since 2009.
In 2012, there is a decrease of 2% in total voluntary departures to 25,997 compared with the last year (26,419). This category has represented the largest proportion of those departing from the UK since the end of 2009.
Of the voluntary departures, 61% of those departing were categorised as other confirmed voluntary departures, 25% as notified voluntary departures (where a person notifies UKBA that they have departed) and 14% as Assisted Voluntary Returns (where financial assistance is provided). The largest category, other confirmed voluntary departures, are cases where a person has been identified as leaving when they no longer had the right to remain in the UK, either as a result of embarkation controls or by subsequent data matching on UKBA systems.
In 2012, 34% of the total enforced removals had sought asylum at some stage, down 15% from the previous year and 58% lower than the peak of 11,743 in 2004. This decrease in asylum cases departing can be viewed in the context of a general decreasing trend in asylum applications since 2002.
In 2012, 66% of the total enforced removals had not claimed asylum at some stage, up 2% from the previous year but down 6% from the peak of 10,070 in 2010.
Top ten nationalities removed from the UK
India 2,150 Pakistan 1,861 Bangladesh 891
Afghanistan 697 Nigeria 768 Vietnam 666
China 659 Albania 595 Romania 484 Poland 435
Foreign national offenders
During the financial year 2011/12, 4,501 foreign national offenders were removed compared with 5,367 in 2010/11. In 2011/12, the UKBA target for removal of foreign national offenders was 4,700.
Quarterly figures of foreign national offenders are included within total enforced removals. UKBA removes foreign national offenders either by using enforcement powers or via deportation.
During the fourth quarter of 2012, 1,207 foreign national offenders were removed which represents an increase of 10% from the number of those removed in the fourth quarter of 2011 (1,096).
UKBA Statistical Release 28th February 2013 |