Anger at mother and son dawn raid

Ms Gaye and her son were taken to the Dungavel detention centre

A woman from the Ivory Coast and her four-year-old son are being held at the Dungavel detention centre following an early morning raid in Glasgow.

It comes days after details of measures to improve the treatment of failed asylum seekers were announced.

A new scheme, due to begin next month, aims to end the detention of children at the controversial centre.

Campaigners described the raid on Fatou Felicite Gaye and her son as "heavy-handed" and "shocking".

They plan to stage a protest outside the UK Border Agency's office in Brand Street in Glasgow on Friday.

A statement from the Unity Centre, which offers advice and aid to asylum seekers and refugees in the city, said immigration officials had arrived at Ms Gaye's home in Sighthill early on Thursday morning.

As a single mum with a young son Fatou is low on the list of people who are expected to abscond Jamie Watson Unity Centre

She and her son Arouna, who was born in the UK, were transferred to Dungavel and face forced removal on 18 May.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "Individuals who have been found by our trained case owners and the independent courts to not be in need of international protection are expected to return home.

"The UK Border Agency always prefers that people leave the UK voluntarily rather than have their return enforced but where an enforced removal is necessary family enforcement visits are undertaken with extreme care, allowing as much time as possible for packing and for everything to be clearly explained."

The spokesman added that the agency had a policy of not carrying out raids before 0630hrs. He said it would not comment on individual cases.

Flats project

Jamie Watson, a volunteer at the Unity Centre, said: "Only on Tuesday this week Fatou had been to report at the Home Office and campaigners at Unity are wondering why on earth the Home Office decided to use such heavy-handed and unnecessary tactics to detain her.

"As a single mum with a young son Fatou is low on the list of people who are expected to abscond.

"She would, however, be high on the list of people who would have benefited from taking part in the Alternatives to Detention project launched this week."

On Tuesday the Scottish Government announced that a pilot project, which would see families whose asylum applications were turned down housed in designated flats, would begin in June.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We're clear that asylum seekers have the right to be treated fairly and humanely and fundamentally oppose the UK Government's regime of dawn raids and detention of children.

"One child detained is one child too many and just this week the Scottish Government announced its participation - along with Glasgow City Council, the UK Border Agency - in a joint pilot initative to allow failed asylum seeking families in Glasgow to stay in designated flats while they await their return home.

"We see this as a step towards ending the detention of children at Dungavel yet we are not complacent.

"Asylum policy is reserved to the UK Government and the Scottish Government has reaffirmed its opposition to forced removals and detention in correspondence and in meetings many times and we will continue to push them on this issue."