Excerpts from report in The Irish World, 17 Oct 2003 p.5 BISHOP of Lancaster Pat O'Donohue has expressed his horror at the level of destitution being created as a result of the government's decision to remove all benefits from asylum seekers who apply for sanctuary once inside the country. Bishop O'Donoghue, originally from Cork and part of the Bishops Conference international department, visited a group of destitute women asylum seekers at the Crossroads project in Kentish Town in north London and heard of people sleeping on church floors and outside voluntary organisations that refused to give them help. ... "We've fought Tony Blair before over detention, dispersal and the cutting of benefits and I told him then we would be back again and we will." |
