Britain to review treatment of asylum seekers 

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The British government ordered an urgent review on Sunday
of the way asylum seekers are scattered across the country, following vicious attacks on
refugees in past weeks.

A Turkish Kurd refugee was murdered in Glasgow last Sunday and an Iranian
asylum-seeker was stabbed at the same Scottish housing estate on Tuesday. In the northern
city of Hull a Kurdish asylum seeker was stabbed in the throat the same day.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office (Interior Ministry) said Home Secretary David
Blunkett wanted a rapid operational review to examine concerns about where people were
placed.

"The Home Secretary has been concerned since taking office by some aspects of the way
dispersal is working on the ground," she told Reuters.

Under the system, implemented by Blunkett's predecessor Jack Straw, refugees are forced to
move into designated "clusters" in cities such as Liverpool, Hull and Glasgow or lose the
money paid for their accommodation.

The review would focus on how sensitively asylum seekers were integrated into local
communities and whether there was sufficient consulatation with local councils when
asylum seekers were placed in their care, the spokeswoman said.

It would also scrutinise those companies and individuals contracted to deliver housing and
other services to asylum seekers.

Britain received a record 76,000 applications for asylum in 2000, of which 20,000 were
granted, but have fallen during the first months of this year.

This is the second rethink of immigration policy in a year following an earlier review of the
voucher scheme, under which the British government issues refugees with vouchers rather
than cash to purchase food and supplies.

The findings of the review would be presented to Blunkett in the autumn, the spokeswoman
said.
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