A stabbing in a Glasgow hotel hosting asylum seekers during the Coronavirus lockdown was avoidable, a new report has concluded. Six people were stabbed during a rampage at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow's West George Street on June 26, 2020.
Sudanese man Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, was shot dead by police after the frenzied attack. He was among more than 300 asylum seekers who were moved from homes into hotels at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Adam had sought help with his declining mental health 72 times before he lashed out at the hotel.
The Home Office says it moved people to reduce their risk of homelessness and to minimise the spread of Covid, but the move sparked anger from campaigners concerned about dismal living conditions.
An independent inquiry, chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, has already branded the asylum system "broken". Its latest report investigated systematic issues directly linked to the Glasgow incident and has concluded that it was an "avoidable tragedy".
It lambasted a "complete lack of clarity" around who was responsible for managing asylum seekers and scolded immigration officials for moving settled people out of communities. One family living in the same area for three years was told to pack up their lives in an hour.
The report said the callousness led to asylum seekers' mental health "deteriorating rapidly and to worrying depths", adding: "At worst, the moves were executed without any regard to health and wellbeing of the people involved."
Baroness Kennedy heard that no consultation was carried out and slammed Mears, the private firm given a £1bn contract to arrange accommodation over 10 years, for "exaggerating" its claims of dialogue beforehand. Migrants were also found to be living in a "culture of fear" and scared to raise concerns, worried it would affect their asylum claims.
Mears workers expected to provide expert care and support were typically unqualified, while hotel staff were also often asked to undertake work "outside their qualifications and job descriptions". The report concluded: "The tragic events at Park Inn that resulted in this inquiry, in all likelihood, could have been avoided."
Recommendations include a call for Mears – which reported a £25.6m profit in 2021 – to create a £5m annual fund dedicated to asylum seeker mental health support. The Home Office is being asked to consider a statutory inquiry compelling both its own and Mears staff to give evidence – a privilege not given to Baroness Kennedy's probe.
Speaking at the launch of the report on Friday, she said: "I will never forget my meetings with people from the hotels whose warmth and humanity towards each other stood in such sharp contrast to the inhumanity to which we bore witness from the Home Office and its contractors."
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This incident in Glasgow was truly horrific and our thoughts are with those affected. We have since made significant changes to keep asylum seekers safe, including how we, our contractors and charities identify vulnerable individuals and ensure they are fully supported.
“We are dealing with an unprecedented increase in asylum cases but despite this we continue to ensure that the accommodation provided is safe, secure and leaves no one destitute.”
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