Asylum seeker in Gloucestershire hotel 'feels like a prisoner'

The man has been staying in a hotel while the Home Office processes his asylum claim

A man who fled his Caribbean home because of death threats said he feels like a prisoner after being placed in temporary accommodation.

The man, who cannot be named, boarded a flight to the UK last year to seek asylum and was placed in a hotel room in Gloucestershire.

After being there for eight months, he said the situation is starting to affect his mental health.

The Home Office said asylum seekers are provided safe and secure accommodation.

The former prison officer said he had to flee his home country on Christmas Day in 2021 after criminals released his name and address and he was put on a hit list.

After two of his colleagues were killed, he decided to leave and seek asylum in the UK.

'Find you and kill you'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), on his arrival at Gatwick Airport, he made himself known to immigration officers and requested asylum.

"Christmas was a really tough time for us. When your full name and full address is on a hit list you have no choice but to leave," he said.

"They can find you and kill you at any time. It was very unsafe for me and my family and I had to do the logical thing and leave."

Since then, he said he has been stuck in what he thought would be short-term accommodation.

He said the food 'is absolutely rubbish'

He has been living in a hotel room in Gloucestershire, given three meals a day, and £8 a week to spend.

"The hotel staff treat you like they want and you cannot leave the hotel for more than 24 hours," he said.

"It's like you're a prisoner but you're not a prisoner. You can go anywhere you want but the Home Office insists that you must return within 24 hours."

A Home Office spokesperson said asylum seekers are not detained in their accommodation and they are free to come and go as they please.

"There are many factors that can delay and contribute to the length of time to process asylum claims," they said.

"Some applications have complex needs, such as safeguarding issues or where they have had a modern slavery claim attached to their claim."

'This is not living'

They also said they are recruiting more decision makers and improving their use of digital technology to simplify case working and speed up processing times.

"The Home Office has no idea what it feels like to sit in a hotel for the entire day just doing nothing, watching your life waste away waiting on a decision," added the man.

"I get extremely depressed. Sometimes I think whether it would have been a better option if I had stayed in my country facing death because this is not living."