Call for new inquiry on anniversary of Glasgow stabbings
CAMPAIGNERS have called for an inquiry into a stabbing rampage they say happened “as a direct result of the dysfunctional UK asylum support and accommodation system”.
Yesterday, several dozen demonstrators gathered in Glasgow’s George Square, exactly one year on from the attack, carried out by Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, from Sudan.
He was shot dead by police after his knifing spree at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow on June 26 last year, which left six people injured, including 42-year-old police constable David Whyte.
Rights groups say asylum seekers were moved en masse to “asylum hotels” abruptly during the height of the pandemic, suggesting the “unsuitable and unsafe conditions” brought about a widespread decline in mental health among residents.
Adam’s first victim, Max Aubin, said he now “spends a lot of time in my house”, adding: “I don’t want to go outside, I can’t trust people, I don’t know their mentality.”
The 21-year-old asylum seeker, who said he fled the Ivory Coast due to religious persecution, said he had his spleen removed after being set upon and still suffers the mental effects of being stabbed without warning. He said: “I’m just trying to deal with it. I want to be independent.”
Glasgow group Refugees For Justice, established after the attack, is calling for an inquiry into the “avoidable tragedy”.
Spokeswoman Pinar Aksu said: “Serious mistakes were made, warnings were ignored and chances to intervene and prevent it happening were missed.” She added that refugees and asylum seekers “were abruptly uprooted from their homes and moved en masse to ‘asylum hotels’ at the height of the pandemic”.
Ms Aksu said: “We believe that decision and the living conditions of the people in the hotels played a significant role in setting off this terrible chain of events.”
Earlier this month, the BBC reported there were 200 asylum seekers living in hotels across Glasgow. Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken told the BBC a ban on accepting new asylum seekers would continue while the asylum-housing scheme was run “on the cheap”.
Ms Aitken said: “We do not think [hotels] is appropriate accommodation, and we do not think it should be long term.”
The Home Office has previously defended the measures, saying: “Asylum seekers have been asked to stay where they are and to follow social distancing to help fight the spread, which has meant standing up temporary accommodation.”