Rwanda Threats 'Harming UK Asylum Seekers' Health'

Ministers' threats to send people via a one-way ticket to Rwanda are having a detrimental impact on the physical and psychological health of those seeking asylum, according to two refugee charities.

- Rajeev Syal, Haroon Siddique

The British Red Cross and the Refugee Council, which worked with nearly 44,000 people in the asylum process, warn they are disappearing from hotels and are reluctant to claim support for fear or deportation, detention and other harsh measures.

The development comes as the Home Office's assessment of human rights has admitted that lesbian, gay and bisexual refugees could be persecuted if they were to be sent to Rwanda - but still plans to fly them 4,000 miles to Kigali.

The Home Office's assessment itself was also questioned yesterday, with the chief inspector of immigration issuing a direction asking for it to be independently scrutinised. Human Rights Watch have described it as full of "blatant falsehoods”.

Mike Adamson, the chief executive at the British Red Cross, said: “We are hearing directly from many people seeking asylum of the distress and anxiety recent announcements have provoked. People tell us they feel less safe and less welcome in the UK.

"It's therefore unsurprising that people's psychological safety and sense they are welcome has been eroded, and that people considering going underground leaving themselves without formal support and in very vulnerable positions."

Those supported by the Red Cross include: