Please can you post this Open Letter to Beverly Hughes re the attempt to deport an Iranian Asylum Seeker. The guy in question was first informed he had been granted refugee status and then the Home Office told him that it had been a 'mistake'. Thaks

Tony Greenstein - Secretary BHUWC

Brighton & Hove

UNEMPLOYED WORKERS CENTRE

Frank Elvy House

4 Crestway Parade, Hollingdean, Brighton BN1 7BL

( 01273-540717

E-mail  Brightonunemployedcentre2000@yahoo.co.uk

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration No. 2315474


31 July 2002

TO: Beverly Hughes, Minister of State, Home Office, 50 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AT

Dear Ms Hughes,

I am in receipt of your letter of 18th July to David Lepper MP concerning the application for asylum of Mr XXX. As you will no doubt be aware, Mr XXX is a refugee from Iran who was severely tortured and beaten. Anyone who has met him will be instantly aware of the damage to his health. He has been supported throughout by the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture.

You will be aware that he was informed by the National Asylum Service (NASS) that he had been granted refugee status before being informed recently that this had been a ‘mistake’, or in your curious euphemism, ‘confusion related to the withdrawal of an earlier non-compliance decision.’

The fact that a man who has been severely tortured, whose health has been broken, is nonetheless considered suitable to be returned to a country which is branded part of the ‘evil axis’ by your good friend George Bush, speaks volumes about the hypocritical cant that you and your fellow Ministers come out with about ‘bogus’ refugees. The only reason his Appeal is ‘out of time’ is because you sent his notice to an out of date address. Because he had been granted refugee status, he was under no obligation to notify you of a change of address and Migrant Helpline, which is funded by the Home Office, to whom you also sent a letter, sent it to him out of time,.

When New Labour came to office it prided itself on having certain ‘values’ that distinguished itself from its Conservative predecessors. It is now crystal clear that New Labour’s values are on a par with those who deported Jews back to pre-war Germany.

Maybe you can explain why you have found time to introduce some 4 different Asylum & Immigration Bills in the past 5 years, yet you haven’t found Parliamentary time to fulfil the promise that was made to introduce a Bill on Corporate Manslaughter. Racism is a priority for you whereas protection of workers from companies that literally make a killing out of their workforce is less important than keeping in with the Enrons, Andersons and other corporate donors to New Labour.

I happened to notice at the bottom of your letter the nice New Labour logo ‘Building A Safe & Tolerant Society’. It is nice to know that you haven’t your sense of humour.

Yours etc.

Tony Greenstein - Secretary