... despite calls from experts and campaigners to do so. We set out to gather as much information as possible about each of them. Here, we tell their stories.
The baby of a Kuwaiti asylum seeker died after being born prematurely, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database. The record simply says: “[Redacted]'s baby, who was born prematurely and had medical conditions owing to this, has passed away.”
This 36-year-old Eritrean man died in March 2022. His death was revealed by an FOI request about the deaths of people receiving asylum support whose last registered address was asylum housing. No further details were provided.
This 31-year-old Egyptian asylum seeker died by suspected suicide in March 2022, according to the Home Office Incident Database.
He had been staying at dispersal (long-term) accommodation run by Mears in the region of North East Yorkshire and the Humber.
Police contacted the Home Office on 29 March 2022 to say they believed he’d died by suicide, and again on 12 April 2022 to say they were trying to find his next of kin and confirm his identity. His identity was eventually confirmed by a coroner and his case was closed on 10 May 2022.
About five months prior to his death, on 6 November 2021, the man’s asylum claim had been rejected with no right left to appeal.
This seven-month-old baby died on 3 September 2022. Born prematurely on 9 February 2022 to a Namibian asylum seeker, the infant passed away at her grandmother’s house after becoming ill, according to the Home Office Incident Database.
Notes on her file say that emergency services were called but were unable to save her.
The Home Office recorded her cause of death as unknown and noted a police investigation was underway. Internal notes state she had pre-existing medical conditions, including a heart defect, which was the suspected cause of death. A High Profile Notification (HPN) form noted she had frequently been hospitalised during her short life.
The infant had been living in dispersal (long-term) accommodation, and an asylum claim had been made in her name the day after she was born. The HPN form flagged that her death might attract media attention. A range of tabloid newspapers reported on an infant death on the same day; pictures taken by locals showed police and ambulance vehicles at the scene.
This 50-year-old Angolan asylum seeker was on bail at the time of his death, although the type of bail was not specified. He had arrived in the UK in 1994 and submitted an asylum claim on 7 October that year.
Notes on the Home Office Incident Database say the man’s housemates called a housing officer to the property after noticing a smell from his room. The officer forced entry and found the man lying half on and half off his bed. Emergency services attended and confirmed he’d been dead some time. An undertaker serving East London and Essex was called.
The man was living in dispersal (long-term) accommodation and was in receipt of Section 4 asylum support, which is provided to destitute asylum seekers whose rights to appeal have been exhausted.
This Iranian man, 34, arrived in the UK in September 2021 and died the following February of an unspecified illness affecting his brain, according to the Home Office Incident Database.
This 40-year-old man died in hospital in February 2023, some five months after being granted asylum. Home Office records indicate the man first arrived in the UK in 2011 and had waited nearly 11 years for his asylum claim to be decided.
The man, whose nationality has been redacted from the records, was living in Home Office dispersal (long term) accommodation. No cause of death is recorded in the Home Office’s Incident Database disclosed to journalists. There was no indication of self-harm or suicide, according to the record, although “safeguarding” issues may have been involved.
This 28-year-old man arrived in the UK on 21 July 2022 and applied for asylum two weeks later. His nationality has been redacted from Home Office records disclosed to journalists.
The man was staying in overflow accommodation, which is typically provided in hotels, and awaiting a decision on his asylum application when he died.
Authorities had not yet confirmed how the man died at the time of writing. Records show immigration staff were notified by police after the man was found dead at his accommodation.
This 48-year-old man, whose nationality has been redacted from Home Office records disclosed to reporters, arrived in the UK on 14 September 2021 and applied for asylum six days later. His claim was still being considered when he died.
The cause of the man’s death is unknown. Home Office records indicate both safeguarding staff and the police were notified, but that the man’s death was “not deemed suspicious”.
This 34-year-old woman was found in her Home Office dispersal (long -term) accommodation on 7 March this year, according to the Incident Database.
Her housing manager discovered her deceased after Mears’ resident welfare manager grew concerned after she missed her dialysis appointment in the morning. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
The woman, whose nationality is redacted from records disclosed to reporters, had arrived in the UK in 2007 and made a claim for asylum in 2016, but this was ultimately unsuccessful and her asylum support was withdrawn in January 2023.
A 40-year-old man was found dead in his Home Office hotel room in the south of England on 1 April this year, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database.
The man, whose nationality has been redacted, arrived in the UK almost six months earlier on 14 October 2022 and claimed asylum a week later.
The details of his case are scarce. His cause of death is yet to be confirmed but the file is recorded as involving a “safeguarding element”.
This means he was officially recognised as vulnerable and potentially in need of protection.
This 62-year-old woman died while staying in Home Office dispersal (long term) accommodation in March 2023, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database.
Records state that authorities had not yet confirmed what caused her death at the time of writing. The woman, whose nationality is redacted, arrived in Britain in 2014 and was receiving support for asylum seekers whose claims have been refused.
