A teenage refugee spent the winter on the streets and was subjected to two attacks after being evicted from Ministry of the Interior accommodation after falling victim to unprecedented “secret” rules.
The restrictions emerged during a high court challenge to a Home Office decision to give people who had been granted asylum just 28 days to leave accommodation such as hotels and find a new place to live. The current rules state that there is discretion to extend this period for those, such as the teenager, who have tried and failed to find their own accommodation and are at imminent risk of sleeping rough.
The high court challenge was brought because exemptions were not being granted to many of the people at risk of becoming homeless on the streets.
The Ministry of the Interior has repeatedly confirmed its commitment to empty asylum hotels before the end of this term. They have long been a focus of anti-immigrant protests. An average of 1,100 asylum seekers leave hotels each week after being granted permission to stay.
The 19-year-old Eritrean refugee, who has recounted forced labor in Libya after fleeing his country, was granted refugee status last August. But despite repeatedly asking a north London council, near the Home Office hotel, for housing help after receiving her eviction notice, she was refused.
They evicted him from his Ministry of the Interior hotel and took him outside without a sleeping bag or blanket and only his jacket to keep warm. He found a bush in a field near Willesden Junction station and began sleeping there. He was attacked on two occasions. Both incidents are being investigated by Metropolitan Police.
“I’m alone in this world,” he told The Guardian. “I have no brother, no sister, no mother. The most important thing is my safety. I have renounced the whole world.”
The high court challenge, brought by five refugees at risk of becoming homeless on the streets due to the 28-day moving period, has now been resolved and protections for this group have been strengthened.
During the case, it emerged that Home Office contractor Migrant Help was using internal rules that did not take into account the fact that the department had discretion to extend accommodation. In written documents defending the short eviction period, the Home Office said it was operating in a “febrile political context”, wanted to prevent the opening of more hotels and was preparing to “reach a critical point” in terms of running out of accommodation for asylum seekers.
The teenage refugee who slept under the mountain has already found accommodation. Ahmed Aydeed, a lawyer at Deighton Pierce Glynn who represents the five refugees, said: “We are grateful that the Home Secretary has finally stopped behaving like a dishonest landlord who evicts people without notice and leaves them on the streets. This was cruel, irresponsible and a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
A court order confirms that the Home Office will now have to inform refugees in writing when they receive their eviction letter that there is discretion to extend the accommodation period if they face street homelessness.
The order adds that “inaccurate statements were made, verified by statements of truth… denying the existence or application of unpublished guidance on extensions and restorations of asylum aid.”
A government spokesperson said: “Our approach has not changed. For people granted permission to remain, we are committed to a successful transition from asylum accommodation, while working with local government to mitigate the risk of becoming homeless.”
Home Office sources said guidelines had been strengthened to help social workers manage applications. A Migrant Help spokesperson said: “All guidance used to provide Migrant Help services… is approved by the Home Office. Migrant Help cannot and does not make decisions about asylum support or accommodation.”
