Strong Local Voice, Strong Local Champion

Asylum Seekers (Zimbabwe)

Annette Brooke (Mid-Dorset and North Poole) (LD): I start by congratulating the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on his clear and reasoned statement describing both the current situation and a possible way forward.

Back in January 2002, deportation was suspended owing to unrest in Zimbabwe. I say to the Government that I am really haunted by the unanswered question of what difference between the situation then and in November last year could possibly justify the recommencement of returns. That is just as true of the period since November. Surely no one could describe the situation in Zimbabwe as having improved.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) on raising these issues in such a timely way. Her points were well argued and related to the situation of the people, as well as the mechanisms that are failing so badly. In an Adjournment debate on 27 June, she gave a harrowing description of her recent visit: the destruction of homes, businesses and the economy, the continued abuse of power and the escalation of brutal activities. That is the background to today's debate.

I shall refer to a particular case throughout the debate, while making some general points. The case is that of Tendai Williard Chinhanhu, who I shall refer to as Williard. Until last week, he was in Harmondsworth detention centre, where he had been since February 2004-a considerable time to be held somewhere when no crime has been committed.

I see two strands to Williard's case. I find it difficult to understand why he was not granted asylum seeker status in the first place. When I read the statement made by the Home Secretary in the House, I found it quite reassuring:

"In particular, members of the opposition in Zimbabwe or others who establish that they have engaged in activities that will cause them to be persecuted by the Zimbabwean Government will continue to be granted asylum."-[Official Report, 27 June 2005; Vol. 435, c. 1023.]

Why were some of these people not granted asylum? Did they have adequate legal representation?

We then come to deportation. The hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire demolished the pull factor argument that everyone would come flooding in if we had a blanket suspension of all removals. We must not get distracted by that type of argument.

To return to the case of Williard, interestingly, he is a runner and might have become an Olympic champion in other circumstances. He met members of the Movement for Democratic Change when he was running in other countries, such as Holland and Germany. He agreed actively to oppose Mugabe and began organising help to evacuate families from farms around Harare. He explains:

"Mugabe's men would come and destroy these farms and they would be carrying guns, while we were only armed with sticks and bows and arrows . . . I saw some families killed, men and women, some of them had even been decapitated . . . They destroyed my house, burning everything and harassed my lodger. I went to the police but they refused to do anything".

Williard went to his father's house-his father was eventually killed-and then he fled to London. He has spent some time in my constituency while in the country, and was an active and supportive member of Poole Runners until his detention. In one of his statements, he says:

"All I know is I cannot go back because I will not be safe. They will be waiting for me at the airport and I will disappear."

I cannot express the situation any better than that, which is why I am using this individual case.

At the time of the election we all became aware of the heightened sensitivity surrounding asylum and immigration. The negative campaigning had an impact. I come from an area where there are relatively few asylum seekers, but it was a huge issue on the doorstep, perhaps because people did not have day-to-day meetings with asylum seekers. I was proud to stand on the doorstep and say that this country has a wonderful reputation for taking in persecuted people and looking after them. It is a proud tradition that we should continue and pass on to young people, and, yes, we should also sort out all the administrative problems facing the Government.

Not surprisingly, I have received a lot of representations about this very popular runner, several from young people. I want to convey an idea of the effect that the Government's action is having on the attitudes and beliefs of the next generation. A 15-year-old told me that until now he did not believe that in a modern country people could be sent to their death bed. Another writes:

"I am writing to you because of Williard Chinhanhu and I am in fear of his life. I do not want him to be sent back to Zimbabwe because there is a possibility that he will not make it there for very long.

If there is absolutely anything I can do to help stop William from being deported I would do it. I may only be 14 and there isn't much a 14 year old can do, but I want to try."

A 13-year-old writes:

"I don't believe that Williard will be safe if he has to return to Zimbabwe. His family have been killed and because of the current situation in Zimbabwe and the fact that he is opposed to Robert Mugabe's regime and was a member of the Movement for Democratic Change, I think his life will be in danger if he returns."

I have received many comments from adults, but those from youngsters are the most moving. They show what our country is about; they show its future.

I ask the Minister what evaluation has been made of the deteriorating situation. What is preventing the Government from realising that the current policy is inappropriate? Why are we relying on the courts? We are told that individual cases are being looked at, but in how many have the Government decided to defer deportation? Does the Minister acknowledge that there are some failed asylum seekers in this country who, if returned, could face persecution for the simple reason that they applied for asylum from a regime that would not consider their rights if returned? I repeat an earlier question: what monitoring is taking place so that the Government can say, hand on heart, "Of course it is safe to be returned"? Surely it is not safe.

Another telling point was made. What message are we giving to Mugabe and his regime if we say that it is perfectly safe to return there? I find that incredible. On behalf of my former constituent-I know that he is staying somewhere else and dutifully reporting in at the moment-and all the other Zimbabweans in this country, I call on the Government not to wait for the court's decision, but to reintroduce the suspension of the deportations as soon as is practical.