Asylum seekers who claimed to have fled persecution in Iran have been returning to their home country for holidays, according to whistle-blowers from accommodation provider Framework.
Two former housing workers have alleged that three Kurdish-Iranian teenagers who arrived in Britain on small boats made separate trips back to Iran last year.
Housing officer Darren Jennings, 50, claims he was "made to feel like a racist" after deciding to blow the whistle on the holidays, which involved watersports and Eid celebrations.
"If you're saying you've left the country because it's unsafe and then you're choosing to travel back there it doesn't make sense," he told the Express.
During his monthly check-ups, Jennings became concerned when one resident failed to answer his door. He claims the man had returned to Iran to visit his family in April last year for around two months.
This, according to Jennings, prompted another Iranian resident to inform him of his plans to return as well. The teenagers did not travel together but it is understood they were all paid for by the same asylum seeker whose identity remains unknown.
One of the teens reportedly went for "months" and shared videos of himself participating in watersports with staff. The housing officer, who resigned from Framework in July last year, felt this represented a serious safeguarding issue.
"These were people who were skint, on benefits but were saying 'we've got the money' from some mysterious individual willing to pay for it," he added.
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Another former support worker, Weston Walton, shared Jennings' concerns.
"I knew of three cases where they went on holiday. [One of the teens] went for months, it was bizarre," Walton told the Express. "When some staff highlighted the safeguarding risk, this was brushed aside."
Reform UK's Lee Anderson responded to the Express's findings by saying anyone holidaying in a country they have fled from should be deported.
"Phoney asylum seekers are endemic in Britain," he said, "yet, we have a Labour Government that is bending over backwards to provide them with five-star hotel accommodation and benefits - no questions asked....If their countries are safe enough to vacation in then we should be deporting them, no ifs, no buts."
Walton expressed concern that, despite Framework receiving £370 per week in enhanced housing benefit for each asylum seeker, the organisation was not doing enough to personally check on residents.
Most interactions between staff and asylum seekers were conducted via WhatsApp rather than face-to-face, according to the Express.
The allegations come as the UK asylum system faces mounting pressure, with approximately 38,000 asylum seekers currently housed in hotels at a cost of £5.5million per day to taxpayers.
Hotels in London are currently threatening to evict asylum seekers after payment delays from accommodation provider Stay Belvedere Hotels.
Framework's deputy chief executive Claire McGonigle said the allegations were "fully investigated" under their whistleblowing procedures last year.
"We concluded that all appropriate communication took place with our stakeholders, that appropriate safeguarding responses were made," she told the Express.
A Derbyshire County Council spokesman clarified they had no "legal power" to stop the trips, adding that a "multi-agency safety plan was put in place".
"The three individuals are all care leavers, over the age of 18, who obtained travel documents legally and followed the appropriate Home Office Asylum claim processes," they said.
A Home Office spokesman said it was the department’s longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
"We take all claims of abuse of the immigration system extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take action where necessary," they said.
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Two former housing workers have alleged that three Kurdish-Iranian teenagers who arrived in Britain on small boats made separate trips back to Iran last year.
Housing officer Darren Jennings, 50, claims he was "made to feel like a racist" after deciding to blow the whistle on the holidays, which involved watersports and Eid celebrations.
"If you're saying you've left the country because it's unsafe and then you're choosing to travel back there it doesn't make sense," he told the Express.
During his monthly check-ups, Jennings became concerned when one resident failed to answer his door. He claims the man had returned to Iran to visit his family in April last year for around two months.
This, according to Jennings, prompted another Iranian resident to inform him of his plans to return as well. The teenagers did not travel together but it is understood they were all paid for by the same asylum seeker whose identity remains unknown.
One of the teens reportedly went for "months" and shared videos of himself participating in watersports with staff. The housing officer, who resigned from Framework in July last year, felt this represented a serious safeguarding issue.
"These were people who were skint, on benefits but were saying 'we've got the money' from some mysterious individual willing to pay for it," he added.
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Another former support worker, Weston Walton, shared Jennings' concerns.
"I knew of three cases where they went on holiday. [One of the teens] went for months, it was bizarre," Walton told the Express. "When some staff highlighted the safeguarding risk, this was brushed aside."
Reform UK's Lee Anderson responded to the Express's findings by saying anyone holidaying in a country they have fled from should be deported.
"Phoney asylum seekers are endemic in Britain," he said, "yet, we have a Labour Government that is bending over backwards to provide them with five-star hotel accommodation and benefits - no questions asked....If their countries are safe enough to vacation in then we should be deporting them, no ifs, no buts."
Walton expressed concern that, despite Framework receiving £370 per week in enhanced housing benefit for each asylum seeker, the organisation was not doing enough to personally check on residents.
Most interactions between staff and asylum seekers were conducted via WhatsApp rather than face-to-face, according to the Express.
The allegations come as the UK asylum system faces mounting pressure, with approximately 38,000 asylum seekers currently housed in hotels at a cost of £5.5million per day to taxpayers.
Hotels in London are currently threatening to evict asylum seekers after payment delays from accommodation provider Stay Belvedere Hotels.
Framework's deputy chief executive Claire McGonigle said the allegations were "fully investigated" under their whistleblowing procedures last year.
"We concluded that all appropriate communication took place with our stakeholders, that appropriate safeguarding responses were made," she told the Express.
A Derbyshire County Council spokesman clarified they had no "legal power" to stop the trips, adding that a "multi-agency safety plan was put in place".
"The three individuals are all care leavers, over the age of 18, who obtained travel documents legally and followed the appropriate Home Office Asylum claim processes," they said.
A Home Office spokesman said it was the department’s longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.
"We take all claims of abuse of the immigration system extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take action where necessary," they said.
Find Out More...