Staff working with asylum seekers and refugees in Newcastle have been accused of a “basic lack of enthusiasm”, after a damning investigation.
A recent report by Newcastle City Council found that refugees placed in city hotels during the Covid pandemic were left “vulnerable” and without fresh food or appropriate medical facilities. The inquiry by councillors claimed that the living quarters reminded torture victims of being in prison and rased concerns about a lack of basic Covid protection.
At a meeting of the local authority’s cabinet on Monday night, Labour councillor Teresa Cairns, who led the probe, condemned the “cruel and retraumatising” asylum system in the UK and said it shows “no sympathy for those fleeing war, persecution or destitution”. Paul Frew, the council’s cabinet member responsible for finance, added that the system “does not keep this country safe and does not control immigration”, before going on to criticise the attitude of both the Home Office and its contracted housing provider Mears – whose staff he claimed were more interested in ‘clocking off’ than helping those in their care.
