Independent Commission of Inquiry into
Asylum Provision in Scotland -
with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic
The focus of this Inquiry is events that occurred in April 2020, in Glasgow, at the beginning of the first major COVID-19 lockdown, when 321 people seeking asylum were removed from their homes.
In May 2020, Adnan Elbi died due to suspected suicide in one of the hotels. One month later, in June 2020, what has become known as ‘the Park Inn tragedy’ took place.
Badreddin Abdalla Adam, who had sought help 72 times due to his deteriorating mental health, was shot dead by police during a stabbing attack; six people including three asylum seekers, one police officer, and two staff members were injured; many were traumatised.
In the absence of a public inquiry, this independent Commission of Inquiry seeks to make sense of the decisions that led up to these events and provide recommendations to improve provision of asylum accommodation and support, and stop future tragedies from occurring.
Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
Baroness Helena Kennedy KC launched the Inquiry in June 2022 in Glasgow.
“I have dedicated my working life to human rights and the law. I could not stand by and not get involved in this work, partly because of the tragedies themselves but also because the events that prompted this Inquiry sit at the nexus of issues of race, deprivation, wellbeing, exclusion, government competence and human rights. Understanding these issues and a determination to work better at this nexus are, I believe, some of the key challenges and moral imperatives of our time.“
Phase 1: Report
Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland - with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic
The asylum system is broken. This has been recognised and stated by the Minister for Safe & Legal Migration in his introduction to a consultation on ‘dispersal accommodation’ for people seeking asylum. Whilst the focus of this Inquiry is on accommodation and provision for people seeking asylum in a specific place, and at a specific point in time – Glasgow in the early months of COVID-19 – the wider context cannot be ignored.
Phase 2: Final Report
Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland - with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic
The overall conclusion of the Panel in relation to the Park Inn incident, is that this was an avoidable tragedy. It would not have happened had people been allowed to stay in their own homes during lockdown and continued to be provided with the routine modest cash payments they had received prior to the moves, and been allowed to continue to live their lives under the same restrictions as the rest of the population during that period.