Though some deaths occurred due to illness or old age, others were suicides. Charities worry that the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK has adversely affected their health.

In January to June this year, 28 people died, including two babies – one from Pakistan and one from Afghanistan, The Guardian reports. A 15-year-old boy from Iraq also died.

Figures obtained by NGO The Civil Fleet indicate that there were 13 deaths in the same period in 2023. The data for the first six months of this year provides no details beyond noting that the cause of some deaths is unconfirmed.

There has been a sharp rise in deaths in Home Office accommodation since 2020, with suicides doubling. Between April 2016 and June 2024, there were 217 deaths, with just 28 of those between April 2016 and December 2019. Between January 2020 and June 2024 there were 189 deaths, 87 per cent of the total number during the whole period. The increase in deaths began at the same time the Home Office moved tens of thousands of asylum seekers from shared housing to hotels at the start of the pandemic.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “The fact that there has been a sharp rise in the deaths of people in asylum accommodation is deeply troubling.”

He added: “We see the hugely negative impact of men, women and children being left isolated in poor quality accommodation for months on end with minimal financial support. Let’s not forget these are people who’ve fled war, violence and terror in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan and come to the UK to be safe.

“It is the legal responsibility of government to ensure they are kept safe and well so that tragic deaths are avoided.”