An asylum seeker has begged to be returned to Somalia because he says it is no longer safe in the UK amid tense anti-migration protests in Nuneaton. Yusuf, 50, who came to Britain from Somalia two decades ago, told Sky News he has been requesting deportation for five months, claiming: 'This country is not safe, but my country is now safe – I want to go back.'
The protests were sparked after two men were charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl in the town. Reform Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch alleged they were asylum seekers and accused police and the Home Office of covering up their immigration status. Police stated they were following national guidance which does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status. Disturbing footage later emerged of a local businessman being subjected to racist abuse while being interviewed live on television.
Yusuf remains adamant he would be safer in Somalia despite the country being in the midst of a vicious civil war that has displaced more than three million people, according to the International Displacement Monitoring Centre. Home Office figures show Nuneaton now has 247 asylum seekers, up from single digits a few years ago, equating to 19 per 10,000 residents – the 87th highest per capita in the UK.
Asylum seekers are housed in houses of multiple occupancy rather than hotels, prompting frustration from some locals. Alan, 77, told The Daily Mail: 'It's the ones that are trying to get here illegally I don't like. I'm not too happy about that, because we've got young, 20-year-olds getting married… that are struggling to get on the property ladder.'
