Conti hits out at asylum seeker proposals

Senior reporter

Saturday 16 June 2012

ONE of Scotland's leading church figures has condemned as disgusting moves which campaigners claim will leave scores of asylum seekers destitute.

Custom byline text:

GERRY BRAIDEN

Mario Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow, said the Catholic Church could not be silent on the issue, adding that when he was made aware of the situation he believed a mistake had been made. He accused the authorities of complacency.

His comments will be read at a rally in the city today, sparked after charity Y People lost a Government contract to house asylum seekers, meaning it cannot continue its policy of allowing tenants to stay on in its properties after they have been unsuccessful in their asylum application.All those affected, between 80 and 100 asylum seekers, have received letters warning them of the situation after the charity lost the bid to house them to security firm Serco.A handover period ends in November and Serco has said it is under no obligation to house failed asylum seekers.In his address to the rally, Archbishop Conti's statement says: "It seems utterly inconceivable that a country with such strong traditions of welfare provision, fairness and social cohesion can allow innocent persons to be evicted from housing, banned from working, left without food and shelter and effectively cast into an abyss with no safety net, no hope and no protection."A UK Border Agency spokeswoman said: "All involved have had asylum claims refused."

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Conti hits out at asylum seeker proposals

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED