Home Office may face action over migrants

A MIGRANT charity has said it is investigating legal action against the Home Office for “casting aspersions” on two Indian nationals detained in Glasgow as “illegal” immigrants.

Lakhvir Singh and Sumit Sehdev were released from Border Force detention after crowds swarmed around the van in which they were held, preventing it from leaving Kenmure Street in Pollokshields on Thursday. Demonstrators blocked the vehicle for several hours before police released the pair on public safety grounds.

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish justice secretary, has blamed the Home Office for its “reckless action”, while Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, has attacked its “appalling asylum and immigration policy”.

Mr Singh and Mr Sehdev, both aged in their 30s and reportedly a mechanic and chef respectively, have lived in the UK for several years and are “part of a community”, said refugee and migrant charity Positive Action in Housing.

Robina Qureshi, the charity’s director, said: “The Home Office have referred to these men as illegal. Well they are wrong, and we are now investigating legal action against the Home Office for casting such aspersions.

“The men now have legal representation and are in the process of trying to regularise their status. The fact they had no legal representation before means they were left vulnerable.”

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

On Thursday, a spokesman said: “The Government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes, often to the most vulnerable people, by removing those with no right to be in the UK. The operation in Glasgow was conducted in relation to suspected immigration offences and the two Indian nationals complied with officers at all times.”