Asylum seekers 'need NI centre'

A new report addresses the needs of asylum seekers

Asylum seekers should not be moved from Northern Ireland to Scotland in order to process their applications, according to a new report.

The research on how asylum seekers are treated in the United Kingdom was carried out by the Independent Asylum Commission over the past 18 months.

Les Allamby, director of the NI Law Centre, supported the report's call for an information centre in Belfast.

People should not have to travel long distances for basic advice, he said.

"If you have a basic public inquiry about immigration needs then you have to go to either Glasgow or Liverpool," he said.

"We think that people should be able to access advice from the Home Office... in Belfast and not have to travel a significant distance to get information when they are prepared to open an enforcement and detention office here in Belfast."

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Paul Kazadi from the Democratic Republic of Congo speaks about the report