Written question asked by Siobhain McDonagh (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 June 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 June 2011. It was answered by Damian Green (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 June 2011 on behalf of the Home Office.

Deportation: Tamils

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the deportation by the UK Border Agency of those with Tamil ethnicity to Sri Lanka.

Answer: [holding answer 20 June 2011]: The UK Border Agency carefully considers all asylum claims and human rights claims including those from Tamils on their individual merits in accordance with UK international obligations against the background of the latest available country information.We do not accept that all Tamil asylum seekers are in need of international protection. This view has been endorsed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of NA v. UK 2008. An Asylum and Immigration Tribunal Country Guidance case in October 2009 agreed with the European Court and affirmed that in some cases there is a reduced the risk to Tamils than previous case law had identified.If an applicant demonstrates a need for international protection, asylum is granted. If their application is refused, they have a right of appeal to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Unified Tribunal framework. In this way we ensure that we provide protection to those asylum seekers who need it.

Secondary information