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Article

13 Nov 2019

Author:
BBC News

UK: Scottish court rules Serco’s lock-change evictions lawful

“Asylum seeker lock-change evictions lawful, says Scottish court”, 13 November 2019

Scotland's highest court has ruled that lock-change evictions of asylum seekers without court orders are lawful.

The judgment from the Inner House of the Court of Session backs up an earlier ruling.

It said Home Office contractor Serco did not act unlawfully when it issued eviction notices in Glasgow last year.

The Scottish Refugee Council said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the judgment, which left hundreds of people at risk of immediate homelessness.

They said the ruling meant that evictions without a court order - which are unlawful in Scotland - can now be carried out by Serco against people in the asylum system.

Serco's Julia Rogers said Scotland's highest court was clear that its approach was "completely proper and within the law".

She said Serco had been demonised and subject to extreme criticism despite spending millions of pounds supporting people who no longer had a right to remain in the UK.

The UK Home Office said if someone had no right to remain in the UK then there was no legal basis to continue to provide support.

However, it said it would still provide accommodation and support to those who would otherwise be destitute and who were temporarily unable to leave the UK because of practical or legal obstacles.

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