One week on from the incident at Park Inn, nearly 400 people seeking asylum in Scotland are still living in hotels in Glasgow.
Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council:
“We are extremely concerned about this situation and extremely worried about the wellbeing of people stuck in the hotels.
“Many of these men and women have fled warzones to resettle in Scotland. They have been living in city centre hotels for the last three months with no money, little control over their lives and very limited access to support services throughout the lockdown period.
“Mears Group, who oversee asylum housing in Glasgow, committed last week to start moving people out of hotels and into proper flats and houses. But one week on from the tragedy, people are still stuck in limbo in the hotels
“This is a human tragedy. The people we have spoken to in hotels this week are frightened, in shock and are really traumatised by what happened last week. They need to be listened to.
“We are working to ensure that people’s needs are assessed properly and urge Mears to move people swiftly and safely into their communities once this has been done.
“Last week saw the second death in Glasgow in Mears and Home Office-run hotels. It doesn’t get more serious than this. But things could get even worse if Mears and the Home Office don’t act with the utmost urgency to get people into safe, secure homes and do absolutely everything they can to avoid any further tragedies.”
