Pledge over child asylum seekers

Nevrooz and Beriwan are being held in Dungavel

Scotland's education minister has promised to listen to concerns about the plight of asylum seekers' children held at the Dungavel detention centre.

Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown has condemned the treatment of youngsters at the facility, insisting that the situation should not be tolerated in a civilised society.

Education Minister Peter Peacock has now agreed to meet Mr Brown to discuss the issue.

Mr Brown, who is the Scottish Parliament's education committee convenor, intervened in the debate over the treatment of asylum seekers' children after learning of the plight of a 14-year-old girl.

The issue really is, if families choose to protract every single effort to remove them, unfortunately the families have to held in detention whilst that goes forward

Lord Filkin
Home Office Minister

Beriwan Ay, a 14-year-old Kurd from northern Iraq, her 11-year-old brother Dilovan and sisters Nevrooz, 12, and Medya, seven, have been in Dungavel since last summer.

The family lived in Kent for four years before being transferred to Dungavel.

Mr Brown said it was wrong that children in their position were being isolated from the outside world and he has appealed for them to be given access to mainstream education.

He said: "I fail to see that there is a very convincing argument with regard to the children.

"They've been through enough, apart from any other considerations, to spend a good part of their teenage life behind bars, which is pretty much the position they are in at the moment."

Mr Peacock has stressed that immigration remains a matter reserved to Westminster but promised that if there are any legitimate concerns the Scottish Executive will look at how it can take the issue forward with the Home Office.

The centre has come under fire

Sally Daghlian, of the Scottish Refugee Council, condemned the detention of the children.

She said: "In Scotland, you're not allowed to lock somebody up who, for example, has committed murder, for more than 150 days without bringing them to trial and this family have been locked up for almost twice that length of time."

The UK Government has always stressed that children are only detained where there is a risk that their parents will abscond rather than face deportation.

Home Office Minister Lord Filkin rejected criticism of the Dungavel regime.

He said: "The issue really is, if families choose to protract every single effort to remove them, unfortunately the families have to be held in detention whilst that goes forward."

Dungavel was opened as a detention centre for asylum seekers in September 2001.

It is thought that about a quarter of the 80 people currently detained at the facility near Strathaven, in Lanarkshire, are children.