Blunkett grants reprieve to gifted asylum seeker

The Home Secretary has decided he will not, after all, deport a gifted teenage asylum seeker whose story was highlighted by The Independent on Sunday.

Nikola Garzova, who is on a special register for talented pupils, has been granted a reprieve along with her family after she wrote a personal letter to David Blunkett begging him not to deport them.

Writing in this newspaper, Mr Blunkett says her case will be considered "fairly, properly and impartially".

"I am very well aware of both the potential they [asylum seeker children] offer, the talent they bring and the challenge they also provide," he says.

He has also written to her family who fled Slovakia after verbal abuse and physical attacks. Their case is now being reviewed by immigration officials.

Nikola spoke no English when she came to Britain but within six months she was promoted to the top stream at school. The 13-year-old Slovakian teenager was a pupil at Thomas Hepburn Community Secondary School in Gateshead where she attained a 100 per cent attendance record.

The Home Secretary was widely condemned last month for commenting that asylum seeker children like Nikola were "swamping" city schools and should be educated separately in Home Office accommodation centres.

Eighty-nine Labour MPs signed a motion opposing the measures, which are included in the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently passing through Parliament.

Ministers confirmed last week that these accommodation centres would be built in three rural locations, which attracted further criticism. Amnesty International, the Law Society and the Commission for Racial Equality are among 10 groups that have signed a letter to Mr Blunkett, asking him to locate accommodation centres near urban areas so refugees have proper access to schools, law centres and leisure facilities.

It has also now emerged that the Government is pressing ahead with plans to remove benefits from asylum seekers who live with their families and relatives.

Official figures show that as many as 25 per cent of refugees who come to Britain live with their relatives. Under new proposals, ministers will have the power to withdraw benefit for these asylum seekers if they refuse to accept places in Government accommodation centres.

This has provoked outrage from opposition MPs and the Liberal Democrats. Humfrey Malins, MP for Woking, has led the Conservative opposition to the Government's asylum reforms. He said with- drawing benefit was "shortsighted".

"Many asylum seekers have suffered trauma and they have emotional support if they are staying with friends and family," he said. "The Government would also save money if they allowed people to stay with relatives."

Ministers are also considering sending immigration officers to France to identify asylum seekers who might have a valid claim.

The Home Secretary has already called on France to stop refugees from the Sangatte refugee camp attempting to reach Britain through the Channel Tunnel. Last week, French officials admitted they were unable to cope with the daily flood of refugees boarding freight trains bound for Britain.