Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2014
I, too, welcome refugee week Scotland and the events that are taking place across Scotland to mark it. I congratulate all at the Scottish Refugee Council on the work that they have done to prepare the programme for what is the 14th refugee week. As it says, the aim is to celebrate the warm welcome that Scots give refugees from around the globe who seek sanctuary, and the contribution, which we must remember, that refugees make to our communities. I thank the many groups and individuals, such as Margaret Wood and others, who have given asylum seekers help and support for many years.
Like Christina McKelvie and others, I have campaigned for many years for asylum seekers’ rights, because I truly believe—as I think most members do—that we should stand up for some of the most vulnerable people in our society, be they refugees, asylum seekers or anyone else who needs our help. I repeat the plea that I and many others have made to the minister before for the Home Office to give MSPs the right to stand up for and serve our constituents—that is what the people involved are. The Home Office continually denies us that right.
Like others, I have stood outside Dungavel and attended rallies. I have visited people who have been held in Dungavel and I have even had my fingerprints taken there, although I have not had them back yet. That is what goes on when a visit is made to anyone in Dungavel. I visited a family and gave a child a chocolate biscuit, but the biscuit was taken off the child because of its wrapper. Drinks and other items cannot be given, either. Dungavel is a detention camp. I have always called it that and I still call it that. It is a detention camp in Scotland, but it is outwith our control.
Some truly shocking stories have come out of Dungavel. The Catholic church has said:
“It is almost inconceivable that conditions such as we are now hearing about can exist in 21st-century democratic Scotland.
They display an alarming disregard of any consideration for human dignity. Immigration is a reserved power, but maybe the time has come for a Scottish solution for a humanitarian scandal on our soil.”
Despite outrage from the church, politicians and other organisations across Scotland, little has changed under the UK system, which is clearly not fit for purpose. That is why I am a little bit concerned about the amendments, which I will take in order.
The Conservative amendment includes the line
“supports the work being done by the UK Government to improve the asylum system”,
but that is really a kick in the teeth for the many people who suffer under that system. The Liberal Democrat and Conservative amendments mention ending the detention of children at Dungavel. Other members have mentioned that and I will go on to talk about it.
The UK Government’s infamous “go home” vans, with their clearly racist slogan, were the brainchild of the Liberals and Tories in coalition.
Let us not forget the posters in Brand Street in Glasgow that said
“Is life here hard? Going home is simple”.
That was another brainchild of the UK Government.
Here is where I turn to the Liberal Democrats. For the Liberal Democrats to claim that they ended child detention at Dungavel is ridiculous.