A collage of asylum seekers who have passed away. There are five men and one woman of various ethnicities. Most of them are smiling at the camera, and a couple people have neutral expressions.

The Home Office does not publish data on the deaths of asylum seekers in its housing...

... despite calls from experts and campaigners to do so. We set out to gather as much information as possible about each of them. Here, we tell their stories.

Name unknown

Male
/
76
/
Somali

died on or around:

1/9/2021
9/1/2021

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

Midlands and East of England
,
2021/09
20210901

This Somali man died in a care centre after being discharged from hospital, according to an internal report. The report states that he had cancer that spread to his bones.

Serco was informed of the man's death by his friend.

The man arrived in Britain in 2013. His asylum claim was refused in 2015 but he submitted further evidence to the Home Office in October 2020.

The exact date of his death was redacted from the internal document, but the reference number assigned to the case suggests he died between September and November 2021.

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Name unknown

Male
/
24
/
Eritrean

died on or around:

1/9/2021
9/1/2021

Cause of death:

Cardiac/suspected cardiac

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2021/09
20210901

This Eritrean man was pronounced dead by paramedics in his bedroom at a hotel in London, according to Home Office records. A friend asked hotel staff to check on him after growing concerned he “had not been answering his call for a long time”.

The internal report said: “The initial information received is that the death was due to cardiac arrest, a post-mortem is underway.” There were no further updates to the cause of death.

The man arrived in Britain on 8 September 2021. His age and the exact date of his death has been redacted from records released by FOI, but the reference number assigned to his case suggests he died within two months of arrival.

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Name unknown

Female
/
47
/
Kenyan

died on or around:

1/9/2021
9/1/2021

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2021/09
20210901

This Kenyan woman died of breast cancer in hospital, according to an internal Home Office document. She had been living in initial asylum accommodation run by Clearsprings Ready Homes before being admitted to hospital.

The woman arrived in Britain in 2015 and claimed asylum in January 2020, but there was no decision in her case yet. Her friend and carer informed Clearsprings of her death, the report said.

Her age and the date of her death has been redacted from the internal Home Office document, but the reference number assigned to the case suggests the Home Office learned of the death between September and November 2021.

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Name unknown

Male
/
/
Iraqi

died on or around:

1/12/2021
12/1/2021

Cause of death:

Covid-19/possible Covid-19

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2021/12
20211201

This Iraqi man was taken to hospital from his hotel accommodation in October 2021 after his son told staff he was “unable to breathe”, according to an internal report.

The next day he was diagnosed with Covid-19. He was placed in intensive care and died two months later.

The man arrived in Britain on 26 July 2021. He was staying with family members in a hotel for asylum seekers in the south of England, run by Clearsprings Ready Homes. The notes suggest the hotel was classed as dispersal accommodation, though this term usually refers to longer-term housing for asylum seekers in flats and other community-based homes.

The date of the man's death has been redacted, along with his name and age. The reference number assigned to the case suggests he died in December 2021.

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Name unknown

Unknown
/
53
/
Bangladeshi

died on or around:

1/1/2022
1/1/2022

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

Wales
,
2022/01
20220101

This person from Bangladesh died with throat cancer, according to an internal report. They had been living in asylum accommodation in Wales with their spouse and two children.

The date on which the person died - along with their name and gender - is redacted from the document disclosed by the Home Office under information laws. The reference number assigned to this case suggests it was reported to the Home Office in January 2022.

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Name unknown

Male
/
25
/
Eritrean

died on or around:

14/2/2022
2/14/2022

Cause of death:

Suicide

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

Midlands and East of England
,
2022/02
20220214

This 25-year-old Eritrean man died by suicide while provided with Home Office initial accommodation in the Midlands and east of England.

The man, who arrived in the UK the previous year, was found in a train station, according to Home Office documents. All three emergency services attended the scene.

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Name unknown

Male
/
47
/
Trinidadian or Tobagonian

died on or around:

22/2/2022
2/22/2022

Cause of death:

Not known

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2022/02
20220222

This 48-year-old man from Trinidad and Tobago died while being provided with Home Office initial accommodation in the south of England.

Information obtained by FOI requests reveals very little about his death. Internal notes suggest paramedics attended the scene, but the cause of death was as yet unconfirmed. The Home Office does not appear to have updated this record further.

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Name unknown

Female
/
0
/
Syrian

died on or around:

19/4/2022
4/19/2022

Cause of death:

Medical

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

Scotland
,
2022/04
20220419

This newborn Syrian baby died in April 2022. A record in the Home Office Incident Database indicates the child was a girl, and died “owing to a medical concern that had been noted prior to birth”.

Her death was recorded as "explained" by the Home Office, a tag given to deaths where the department has determined the cause and concluded it is neither suicide nor suspicious or criminal in nature.

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Name unknown

Female
/
37
/
Nigerian

died on or around:

17/5/2022
5/17/2022

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Mears

Location:

North East, Yorkshire and the Humber
,
2022/05
20220517

This 37-year-old Nigerian woman died of cancer in May 2022. Her death was recorded as “explained” in information released by FOI about the deaths of people receiving asylum housing support.

The Home Office said it categorises deaths as “explained” when it has concluded it is not a suicide nor suspicious or criminal in nature.

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Name unknown

Male
/
79
/
Indian

died on or around:

29/5/2022
5/29/2022

Cause of death:

Medical

housing provider:

Serco

Location:

North West
,
2022/05
20220529

This 79-year-old Indian man died in hospital in May 2022, according to the Home Office’s incident database. Records say he was receiving treatment for an ailment but was in a lot of pain and turned out “seemingly” to have a heart condition.

His death was classified as “explained”, meaning the Home Office concluded it is not a suicide nor suspicious in any way, and wouldn’t result in a third-party statutory inquiry such as an inquest. 

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Name unknown

Female
/
68
/
Kenyan

died on or around:

30/5/2022
5/30/2022

Cause of death:

Medical

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2022/05
20220530

This 68-year-old Kenyan woman died in a nursing home in May 2022, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database. She had been staying in asylum accommodation in the south of England but, after being admitted to hospital with Covid-19, she was moved to a nursing home in March 2022.

Her exact cause of death is not specified in the record, although death has been classified as “explained”. This means the Home Office concluded it is not suspicious or a suicide, and wouldn’t result in a third-party statutory inquiry such as an inquest.

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Name unknown

Female
/
72
/
Afghan

died on or around:

13/3/2022
3/13/2022

Cause of death:

Cancer-related

housing provider:

Clearsprings Ready Homes

Location:

South
,
2022/03
20220313

This 72-year-old Afghan woman died as a result of lung cancer at her Home Office accommodation in the south of England in March 2022, according to the Home Office’s Incident Database.

She had arrived in the UK in August 2020 and claimed asylum, but her case was outstanding at the time of her death.

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