The Home Office does not publish data on the deaths of asylum seekers in its housing...
... 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.
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Name unknown
Female
/
47
/
Kenyan
died on or around:
1/9/2021
9/1/2021
Cause of death:
Cancer-related
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
South
,
2021/09
20210901
This Kenyan woman died of breast cancer in hospital, according to an internal Home Office document. She had been living in initial asylum accommodation run by Clearsprings Ready Homes before being admitted to hospital.
The woman arrived in Britain in 2015 and claimed asylum in January 2020, but there was no decision in her case yet. Her friend and carer informed Clearsprings of her death, the report said.
Her age and the date of her death has been redacted from the internal Home Office document, but the reference number assigned to the case suggests the Home Office learned of the death between September and November 2021.
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Name unknown
Male
/
/
Iraqi
died on or around:
1/12/2021
12/1/2021
Cause of death:
Covid-19/possible Covid-19
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
South
,
2021/12
20211201
This Iraqi man was taken to hospital from his hotel accommodation in October 2021 after his son told staff he was “unable to breathe”, according to an internal report.
The next day he was diagnosed with Covid-19. He was placed in intensive care and died two months later.
The man arrived in Britain on 26 July 2021. He was staying with family members in a hotel for asylum seekers in the south of England, run by Clearsprings Ready Homes. The notes suggest the hotel was classed as dispersal accommodation, though this term usually refers to longer-term housing for asylum seekers in flats and other community-based homes.
The date of the man's death has been redacted, along with his name and age. The reference number assigned to the case suggests he died in December 2021.
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Name unknown
Unknown
/
53
/
Bangladeshi
died on or around:
1/1/2022
1/1/2022
Cause of death:
Cancer-related
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
Wales
,
2022/01
20220101
This person from Bangladesh died with throat cancer, according to an internal report. They had been living in asylum accommodation in Wales with their spouse and two children.
The date on which the person died - along with their name and gender - is redacted from the document disclosed by the Home Office under information laws. The reference number assigned to this case suggests it was reported to the Home Office in January 2022.
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Name unknown
Male
/
25
/
Eritrean
died on or around:
14/2/2022
2/14/2022
Cause of death:
Suicide
housing provider:
Serco
Location:
Midlands and East of England
,
2022/02
20220214
This 25-year-old Eritrean man died by suicide while provided with Home Office initial accommodation in the Midlands and east of England.
The man, who arrived in the UK the previous year, was found in a train station, according to Home Office documents. All three emergency services attended the scene.
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Name unknown
Male
/
47
/
Trinidadian or Tobagonian
died on or around:
22/2/2022
2/22/2022
Cause of death:
Not known
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
South
,
2022/02
20220222
This 48-year-old man from Trinidad and Tobago died while being provided with Home Office initial accommodation in the south of England.
Information obtained by FOI requests reveals very little about his death. Internal notes suggest paramedics attended the scene, but the cause of death was as yet unconfirmed. The Home Office does not appear to have updated this record further.
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Name unknown
Female
/
0
/
Syrian
died on or around:
19/4/2022
4/19/2022
Cause of death:
Medical
housing provider:
Mears
Location:
Scotland
,
2022/04
20220419
This newborn Syrian baby died in April 2022. A record in the Home Office Incident Database indicates the child was a girl, and died “owing to a medical concern that had been noted prior to birth”.
Her death was recorded as "explained" by the Home Office, a tag given to deaths where the department has determined the cause and concluded it is neither suicide nor suspicious or criminal in nature.
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Name unknown
Female
/
37
/
Nigerian
died on or around:
17/5/2022
5/17/2022
Cause of death:
Cancer-related
housing provider:
Mears
Location:
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
2022/05
20220517
This 37-year-old Nigerian woman died of cancer in May 2022. Her death was recorded as “explained” in information released by FOI about the deaths of people receiving asylum housing support.
The Home Office said it categorises deaths as “explained” when it has concluded it is not a suicide nor suspicious or criminal in nature.
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Name unknown
Male
/
79
/
Indian
died on or around:
29/5/2022
5/29/2022
Cause of death:
Medical
housing provider:
Serco
Location:
North West
,
2022/05
20220529
This 79-year-old Indian man died in hospital in May 2022, according to the Home Office’s incident database. Records say he was receiving treatment for an ailment but was in a lot of pain and turned out “seemingly” to have a heart condition.
His death was classified as “explained”, meaning the Home Office concluded it is not a suicide nor suspicious in any way, and wouldn’t result in a third-party statutory inquiry such as an inquest.
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Name unknown
Female
/
68
/
Kenyan
died on or around:
30/5/2022
5/30/2022
Cause of death:
Medical
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
South
,
2022/05
20220530
This 68-year-old Kenyan woman died in a nursing home in May 2022, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database. She had been staying in asylum accommodation in the south of England but, after being admitted to hospital with Covid-19, she was moved to a nursing home in March 2022.
Her exact cause of death is not specified in the record, although death has been classified as “explained”. This means the Home Office concluded it is not suspicious or a suicide, and wouldn’t result in a third-party statutory inquiry such as an inquest.
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Name unknown
Female
/
72
/
Afghan
died on or around:
13/3/2022
3/13/2022
Cause of death:
Cancer-related
housing provider:
Clearsprings Ready Homes
Location:
South
,
2022/03
20220313
This 72-year-old Afghan woman died as a result of lung cancer at her Home Office accommodation in the south of England in March 2022, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database.
She had arrived in the UK in August 2020 and claimed asylum, but her case was outstanding at the time of her death.
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Name unknown
Male
/
56
/
Afghan
died on or around:
15/6/2022
6/15/2022
Cause of death:
Not known
housing provider:
Serco
Location:
North West
,
2022/06
20220615
This 56-year-old man died in hospital in June 2022 while provided with Home Office housing in the north west of England, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database.
He began to feel unwell at his dispersal (long-term) accommodation in May 2022 and was taken to hospital where he died 19 days later.
His precise cause of death is not mentioned in the database but is recorded as “explained”.
This means the department concluded it was not the result of suicide, nor suspicious or criminal in nature.
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Name unknown
Male
/
50
/
Vietnamese
died on or around:
25/6/2022
6/25/2022
Cause of death:
Cancer-related
housing provider:
Mears
Location:
North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
2022/06
20220625
This 50-year-old man from Vietnam died as a result of lung cancer in June 2022, according to the Incident Database.
He had been staying in dispersal (long-term) asylum accommodation in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber region.
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