Young boy held in immigration van ordeal during UKBA raid

A nine-year-old boy was incarcerated in an immigration van for three hours whilst his mother attended hospital claim outraged relatives.

The child, known only as M for security reasons, had his family taken to the immigration removal centre at Yarl’s Wood near Clapham in Bedforshire. The boy was forcibly separated from his mother and detained in a van by UK Border Agency officials for several hours as she received medical treatment.

The UKBA said that the child was not distressed during his holding time which followed a deportation raid in the early morning. However, the family of the child claims that the child was in fact terrified during his incarceration and repeatedly pleaded for his mother. The family were transported to the removal centre after the dawn raid on November 17th ahead of their planned deportation home to Iran the following day. However, after fresh evidence in their support of remaining in the UK was presented by the family’s lawyers they were later released on December 8th.

Speaking through a translator, the boy stated that he was scared throughout the raid, especially after his mother collapsed requiring her to be taken by ambulance to hospital. Child M said he was locked inside the van by officials who said that he was coming with them, with a detour to school to return his guitar and camera. He also claimed that officials were big and scary like monsters.

The child had previously been detained for almost two months last year where he received psychological treatment.