1. September - XL Airways announced it would not charter anymore of
its' planes to the Home Office to carry deportees.

2. Friday 5th October - The Independent front-page reveals the extent
of assaults during deportations.

3. Monday 8th October - In an article today, "Major airline refuses
to help with forcible removal of immigrants" The Independent prints a
Home Office statement that airlines can opt out of flying deportees
if they choose to do so.

Extracts of the Independent article:

Home Office, refusing to disclose details about deportation flights ;
"If we were to disclose the information you have requested, this
would prejudice the number of airlines willing to contract with the
agency on charter operations and could drive up the cost of such
operations. In addition, the release of information could damage
commercially those airlines who offer this service."

XL Airways ;
"... we operated one flight in February to DR Congo as part of this
contract, without full understanding of the political dimensions
involved. Our chief executive [Phillip Wyatt] had made it quite clear
to all concerned that we will not be operating any further flights of
this nature ... We are not neutral on the issue and have sympathy for
all dispossessed persons in the world, hence our stance."

British Airways said they were under a legal obligation to return
failed asylum-seekers
"It is UK law and we comply with it - it's like asking whether we are
happy paying income tax."

Home Office said that deportation flights are only contracted with
willing airlines
"The agency uses agents/brokers to arrange both charter and scheduled
removals. Airline captains have the right to refuse carriage of a
passenger and will do so if they feel appropriate for security or
commercial reasons."

Full story: Major airline refuses to help with forcible removal of immigrants
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article3038391.ece

Related article:

"Home Secretary urged to respond to deportation abuse allegations"
Saturday 6th October - Read the full article here ;
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3033323.ece

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is facing calls for a full Commons
statement into allegations that hundreds of people being deported
from Britain faced beatings and racial abuse by their official escort
teams. MPs of all parties expressed horror at cases of alleged abuse
highlighted by The Independent.

Damian Green, the shadow Immigration Minister, called for an urgent
statement to MPs regarding the allegations.

"Any incident of mistreatment deserves an urgent and serious
investigation. If there are serious problems, then let's hope
ministers actually stand up and accept responsibility, rather than
hiding behind their officials like Home Office ministers usually do,"
he said.

Independent front page and other articles from Friday 5th October

Beaten, bleeding - and then returned in a wheelchair
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3028716.ece

British guards 'assault and racially abuse' deportees
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3028727.ece

Emma Ginn: 'It is easy to abuse when a victim is out of sight'
 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3028726.ece

Leading Article: Inhumanity, hypocrisy, and a policy that shames Britain
 http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article3028690.ece

What you can do
Email a letter to the Independent in response to today's article.
Some may feel that British Airways equated forced deportations of to
the unpleasantness of paying income tax, which is inappropriate in
the extreme considering the fate of men, women and children fearing
persecution may be in British Airways' hands. Also, that British
Airways' crass financial analogy is possibly indicative of their
priorities, especially given that the Home Office statement implies
that airlines are not, as British Airways have stated, under a legal
obligation to carry out deportations.

Email (no attachments), giving postal address and telephone number,
to  letters@independent.co.uk

If you email a letter to the Independent, we suggest you read today's
Independent article in full.


Source for this Message:
The Independent
NCADC