Neighbours of three asylum seekers who are thought to have jumped to their deaths in Glasgow are expected to stage a demonstration on Tuesday at the offices of the UK Border Agency.
STV News understands the trio were a father, mother and son originally from Russia. They were applying for asylum in Scotland from Canada after staying in the North American country for years. They had run into a dispute with the authorities there and left.
Their apparent triple suicide comes after they had been told they had to leave their flat in the Red Road flats in Springburn following the refusal of their application to stay in the UK. However, it is understood no deportation order had been issued and they would have been allowed to take up alternative accommodation.
The father is understood to be aged 43. The son was in his 20s and the mother in her 40s. On Tuesday, residents in Springburn’s Petershill Drive are expected to meet outside the UK Border Agency offices in Govan in Glasgow at around 11am. The charity Positive Action in Housing has called for an inquiry into the deaths.
Robina Qureshi, director of the charity, said: "We know that they were asylum seekers. We know that their asylum application had been refused and were facing imminent destitution under the asylum rules. The son was in his 20s and the mother was in her 40s.
"We believe that there should be a public inquiry into these deaths, and particularly to do with the impact that the UK Border Agency 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 UK Border Agency (UKBA) played. We ask that the UKBA issue an immediate statement about the suicides."
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Ms Qureshi continued: "Residents of Red Road have asked for help with a demonstration outside the UK Border Agency. Neighbours have said that they thought the Home Office had been banging on the door on Sunday morning when the family jumped.
"Every day, Positive Action in Housing's staff are confronted with the reality of asylum seekers coming into the office crying or upset because they have just been told they must leave the country. Then their money and housing is stopped a week later.
"We run a hardship fund and give out small amounts of cash for food and arrange free shelter in the homes of our volunteers. There is a great deal of mental strain and it is normal currency for people to talk about ending their lives as a viable alternative to destitution or removal."
Ms Qureshi said the charity wanted to know if UK Border Agency removal officers were knocking on the door of the family on Sunday and whether they had communicated with the three recently. The three people who died have yet to be named by police.
A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "Police are continuing their investigation and efforts to trace relatives." It is believed the victims fell from the 15th floor of Block 63 at the Red Road flat complex, which were at one time the highest flats in Europe.
Many of the flats - which are earmarked for demolition - are occupied by asylum seekers and refugees. On Monday night, the area’s MP Willie Bain said he had helped the family, who he understood had lived in Canada before coming to the UK.
He said: "Although the victims of this tragic incident have not been named, I believe I know who they are and had been assisting in their case. They had attended my surgeries and I had provided representations on their behalf.
"It is my understanding that no removal order had been served, but that if one had been, they would have been removed to Canada because that is the country where they were living lawfully before travelling to the UK. People locally are still in shock but it is important that the authorities provide clarity on what has happened. It is a very sad case."
