United Front on Asylum Policy

By James Lyons, The Western Mail: May 4 2001

The Home Office policy of detaining asylum seekers in prison has been attacked by all parties at the National Assembly.

Welsh Finance Minister Edwina Hart, Labour, said the Assembly's Lib-Lab cabinet disapproved of the policy and said she did not intend to justify it to the other parties.

The Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats also said it was wrong to house asylum-seekers with convicted criminals.

In a statement to the Assembly Ms Hart said, 'I think the judgements that are made about asylum seekers are sometimes incorrect and I don't think it is appropriate that they are housed in prisons. That is the view of the administration within the National Assembly.

'The legal advice I have had from the Home Office indicates that this is acceptable policy on behalf of the UK Government. I don't really intend to justify the actions of the Home Office in this chamber.'

Ms Hart said she wished the Assembly 'had control of its own destiny' on the issue.

The Home Office has set aside about 500 prison places across the UK to take asylum seekers.

About 100 have been detained in Cardiff Prison since February. It is thought that 32 are currently detained there. The Home Office plans to use prisons to detain people until new dedicated immigration detention centres become available later this year.

Former Assembly minister Peter Law - Labour, Blaenau Gwent - said it was unacceptable to house asylum seekers in an overcrowded prison with a history of racial problems.

He said the concordat governing dealings between the Assembly and the Home Office was 'as empty as air'.

Welsh Tory leader Nick Bourne said refugees should not be detained in prison. He called for all-party talks with Home Office ministers.

'There are humanitarian issues here,' he said. 'These people have not been charged with offences, they should not be in prison. There are grave concerns about dietary positions, about prayer, about legal representation.

'I do think we have got to get across to Westminster the great concern throughout this Assembly about the position in Cardiff prison.'

Plaid Cymru's Helen Mary Jones said asylum-seekers at Cardiff Prison received worse treatment than convicts, with some locked up for 23 hours a day.

End

Source:The Western Mail: May 4 2001http://icwales.ic24.com/0100news/0600uk/page.cfm?objectid=11043136&method=full