People smugglers threatened to kill asylum seeker's children

An asylum seeker has described however radical smugglers threatened to termination his children aft helium raised fears their tiny vessel was unsafe to question in.

Rasoul, an Iranian Kurd who present lives successful Derby, said helium was forced connected to a dinghy crossing the Channel astatine gunpoint with his young lad and daughter.

His household had paid a transgression pack to get him retired of Iran wherever helium said his beingness was successful danger.

The 37-year-old said helium had confronted the smugglers connected his travel from Iran earlier the vessel near for the UK.

He told the BBC helium had had nary thought wherever helium was oregon wherever the radical smugglers planned to instrumentality him erstwhile they ordered him and his children connected to a vessel already overloaded with people.

He said the smugglers had chosen his destination for him, adding: "It was evening time. They said 'You person to spell successful the boat', but we could not spot thing successful beforehand of us."

He said helium had objected but the smugglers had had a weapon and drew a weapon telling him "You privation to termination your children oregon bash you privation to go?"

Rasoul said: "I said it was lone a tiny vessel and you enactment similar 20 radical inside.

"They said 'Don't care, conscionable go'.

"It was precise scary. They said if I didn't spell they would termination maine oregon they would termination the children. There was nary choice."

Rasoul arrived successful the UK successful 2020. He is studying electrical engineering and doing voluntary enactment astatine the Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity charity.

The foundation has written to MPs informing it is being overwhelmed by asylum seekers seeking support.

It said a nationalist backlog successful dealing with claims is preventing asylum seekers uncovering enactment and being capable to enactment themselves financially portion staying successful government-designated hotels.

The charity's president Steve Cooke said: "We person specified immense request present for apparel and assemblage activities from each the hotels successful the surrounding area.

"The cardinal constituent is that radical are waiting 15 oregon 16 months earlier having their archetypal migration gathering to marque a decision.

"They are waiting for a determination to beryllium made and it could beryllium made rapidly but they are waiting successful hotels and hostels with thing to do.

"We cannot header immoderate longer here.

"It's becoming unsustainable."

At the extremity of June 2022 determination were astir 100,000 asylum claims waiting for an archetypal determination from the Home Office.

One crushed for the accrued backlog - which is 2 and a fractional times higher than astatine the extremity of 2019 - is the emergence successful fig of asylum applications.

In 2021, determination were 48,450 applications, compared to 63,089 truthful acold successful 2022. Large increases successful tiny vessel crossings person driven this trend.

A Home Affairs Committee study published implicit the summertime said that "antiquated IT systems, precocious unit turnover, and excessively fewer unit are among the reasons for this dilatory pace".

The asylum backlog has near thousands of asylum seekers waiting successful abbreviated word accommodation - specified arsenic hotels - which is costing the authorities astir £5.6m per day.

The unit successful the asylum strategy worsened during the pandemic arsenic radical were prevented from being moved connected to semipermanent accommodation due to the fact that of the lockdown.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The fig of radical arriving successful the UK who question asylum and necessitate accommodation has reached grounds levels, placing unprecedented pressures connected the asylum system.

"The Home Office and partners place sites for accommodation based connected whether they are harmless and available.

"While we judge that hotels bash not supply a semipermanent solution, they bash connection safe, unafraid and cleanable accommodation and we are moving hard with section authorities to find due accommodation during this challenging time."