Asylum seekers being 'forced to wear coloured wristbands' in Cardiff

There have been allegations that asylum seekers were told by members of staff they would be reported to the Home Office if they refused to wear the wristbands

An asylum seeker sits on a wall outside his temporary accommodation (file pic) (BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)

Asylum seekers in Cardiff are reportedly being forced to wear brightly coloured wristbands at all times.

Those housed in the Welsh capital by Clearsprings Ready Homes, a private firm contracted by the Home Office, have been told they will not be fed unless they wear the wristbands, according to the Guardian.

The wristbands entitle the asylum seekers, who cannot work and also receive no money, to three meals a day.

There were also allegations that asylum seekers were told by members of staff they would be reported to the Home Office if they refused to wear the wristbands.

But local MP Jo Stevens contacted the company to complain and later tweeted that they had agreed to stop enforcing the policy.

Eric Ngalle, 36, who spent a month in Cardiff told the Guardian: “On the road we had to walk down there is often heavy traffic. Sometimes drivers would see our wristbands, start honking their horns and shout out of the window, ‘Go back to your country.’ Some people made terrible remarks to us.

“If you take off the wristband you can’t reseal it back onto your wrist so if you want to eat you have to wear it all the time.”

The news comes days after asylum seekers in Middlesbrough said they had their doors painted the red by G4S, the private firm responsible for housing them, resulting in harassment and abuse from the public.

The operations director of Clearsprings Ready Homes, told The Guardian: “The UK has, over recent months, seen a larger population of asylum seekers. In turn volumes of people in initial accommodation sites, including Cardiff increased quickly.

“Clearsprings has taken steps, agreed with the Home Office to increase capacity in line with this demand in the form of additional self-catering accommodation.

“Those clients in the self-catering units receive a weekly allowance in the form of supermarket vouchers and those in full-board accommodation are issued with a coloured wristband that bears no other logo or text identifying its use or origin. Full-board clients are required to show their wristbands in order to receive meals in the restaurant.”

Clearsprings Ready Homes has been contacted by The Independent for a comment.