UK Border Agency's role in deaths probed

Positive Action in Housing, a charity that works with refugees and asylum-seekers, warned protesters outside the UKBA's offices in the city that there was a high chance the same thing could happen again.

The mother, son and father, who jumped from the 15th-floor of the Red Road block of flats in Springburn, are believed to have been Russian. They are thought to have arrived from Canada, which had reportedly given them leave to stay but denied them citizenship.

PAH said the family's applications to stay in Britain had been rejected. Neighbours reported that UKBA removal officers had been banging on their door on Sunday morning before they jumped.

Protesters demanded a change in policy and greater compassion in the asylum system.

PAH director Robina Qureshi said: "There should be a public inquiry into these deaths, particularly to do with the impact that the UKBA has on the lives of asylum-seekers who have lived here for years but live in the fear of removal.

"We want to know what role the UKBA played. We ask that the UKBA issue an immediate statement about the suicides."

She said families facing deportation frequently came to the charity threatening suicide rather than returning to the country from which they fled.

"They are facing the threat of being made destitute, they can't claim any benefits, they can't work, they can't access any homelessness services," she said.

At the protest former Scottish Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan said: "If you're not shocked and ashamed by what happened, I think you need to question your own humanity. It's hard to explain the depths of despair they must have felt."