18 months ago, the Helen Bamber Foundation (HBF) published detailed evidence from medical assessments and casework showing that the government’s use of Wethersfield airbase as a large ‘open-prison camp’ for men seeking asylum since July 2023 was causing profound harm. New data shows that this is still the case and yet, despite the Prime Minister's commitment to close it, the site remains open.
While we welcome the parts of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill that repeal the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 and parts of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, the Bill does not go far enough to undo the harmful legislation that has been introduced in recent years. We are alarmed by the introduction of yet further criminal offences that could easily be applied to refugees as opposed to smugglers and traffickers.
With the far right on the rise globally and the rise in discrimination and hate crimes, we urgently need this government to move away from the demonising language of the past and towards defending everyone's fundamental human rights, with immigration and asylum systems that are fair and humane.
Helen Bamber Foundation Group (HBF Group) is pleased to announce Alison Pickup as their new Chief Executive Officer. Alison, who is currently the Executive Director of Asylum Aid, a charity part of the HBF Group, will take over from Kerry Smith, who has been the CEO of the HBF Group since May 2018 to June 2025
On 19 May, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons called on member states must improve the collaboration between public and private sectors in supporting refugees and people seeking asylum, and to move away from using large sites as accommodation.
Thousands of people seeking protection, including survivors of trafficking and torture, are placed in squalid hotels, remote large ex-military sites, and dispersal accommodation which is in disrepair. Living in unhygienic and crowded spaces, putting up with substandard food and hostile support staff, and living on an allowance of £8.86 per person per week is an everyday reality for many, as they are not allowed to work while waiting for a decision on their asylum claim. This is compounded by the sheer length of time they spend in these conditions.
We are deeply concerned about measures that deny those who are seeking protection in the UK a fair and individualised assessment of their asylum claim. This briefing examines how restricting Albanians' access to protection in the asylum system impacts survivors of trafficking.
This response to the Ministry of Justice's consultation on civil legal aid draws on HBF’s experience of supporting clients in London who are represented by, or eligible for representation by, legal aid representatives for their asylum and/or immigration matters under the Standard Civil Contract. It draws and builds on our previous submission of February 2024 to the Review of Civil Legal Aid, and includes client data and testimonials from our Ambassadors for Change.
The Helen Bamber Foundation welcomes the High Court’s judgment finding that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully in accommodating victims of trafficking, torture and other extreme human cruelty in RAF Wethersfield. The three claimants in the legal challenge all suffered a significant decline in their mental health as a result of living at Wethersfield. It is shocking that the site remains open given the wealth of evidence showing more widely the serious harm that has been caused to men forced to live there.
This qualitative research looked at how being separated from their families affects male refugees living in the UK. Men make up the majority of asylum seekers in the UK and Europe; evidence suggests that men are more likely to seek asylum first to establish legal status and later bring their families to join them. However, there isn’t much research exploring men’s experiences after migrating. What’s more, male asylum-seekers often face negative stereotypes and media portrayals and marginalisation in the countries where they seek safety.
This new report shows that child refugees who come to the UK alone are continuing to face harassment, abuse and criminalisation as a result of being wrongly treated as adults and placed in accommodation with adult strangers. In the first half of 2024 alone, 63 local authorities in England and Scotland received 603 referrals from various stakeholders who suspected young people were being wrongly placed in adult accommodation or detention due to inaccurate Home Office age assessments. In 493 cases where a decision was made on age, over half cases (262) were found to be children.
This collection of global research provides further evidence to the Helen Bamber Foundation’s recommendations that people seeking asylum in the UK should have access to quality, suitable housing in communities (not camps or hotels), and the use of immigration detention should be significantly reduced.
