Tower death family were from Russia

Protest: around 30 people gathered at the UK Border Agency offices in Glasgow© STV

Three people who died after apparently jumping from a Glasgow tower block were from Russia, police confirmed.

Officers released a statement on Tuesday afternoon, confirming the nationality of the trio. Police say they cannot identify them until their next of kin have been traced and informed. However, local reports suggest they were Serguei Serykh, 43, his wife Tatiana and his stepson.

The three are believed to have had their application for asylum in Scotland rejected shortly before their bodies were found at the bottom of a 31-storey block in Springburn's Petershill Drive at the weekend. Police say their deaths are not being treated as suspcious.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to meet Glasgow North East Labour MP Willie Bain on Wednesday to hear the views from the community and how the area is coping following the deaths. Mr Bain said he believes he met the family last month regarding their bid for asylum from Canada and advised them to make a fresh application.

The MP said he had seen a Home Office document, since the family died, which included allegations the husband had made against the Canadian authorities.

He said: "They had told me that they had been rejected by the Home Office and they had been refused leave to appeal for the immigration appeal tribunal. My advice to them was to put in a fresh claim."

The UK Border Agency has revealed that it was making arrangements to return the family to Canada, but "no imminent action" was planned.

Mr Bain said there had been no warning signs during the meeting that the husband or the family intended to harm themselves. It is understood the family moved to Canada and were granted refugee status in 2005. However, the allegations against the Canadian authorities began after an application for Canadian citizenship was refused and it is believed the family received a letter explaining that their accommodation was due to stop on Sunday.

Meanwhile, SNP MSP for Glasgow, Anne McLaughlin,  called for a "total overhaul" of the asylum and immigration system in the UK to make it fairer. She said: "It is a scandal to think that in a developed nation such as ours, people feel so desperate because of the way we treat them that they think death is the only option left for them."

She added: "These people come from some of the worst war-torn and poverty-stricken countries in the world, but that seems to count for nothing when they're being processed through the asylum system. The three deaths at the Red Road flats this week should serve as a wake-up call for the UK Government."

RESOURCES

The post mortem statements were released just hours after a demonstration took place outside the UK Border Agency offices. Glasgow-based charity Positive Action in Housing has called for a public inquiry into the deaths, with director Robina Qureshi describing the deaths as a "tragedy". She added it was a "normal occurrence" for families fearing deportation to come to the charity threatening suicide rather than return to their home country.

"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. If you can't return to your country of origin, you have nowhere left in the world to live. Anyone left in that position would be driven to the brink.

"We are calling for a public inquiry into the suicide that took place as there could be more instances like this. No one knows what happened in that flat but we need to know what the role was of the UK Border Agency and Strathclyde Police."

Former Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan also took part in the demonstration. He said he was in "complete shock" and "ashamed as a citizen of Glasgow" over the deaths.

"I'm here for the same reason that everyone else is," he said. "Concerned and ashamed that people who were free to seek refuge in our country took their own lives. If you are not shocked and ashamed by what happened, I think you need to question your own humanity. It is hard to explain the depths of despair they must have felt."

Mr Sheridan said he hoped the deaths would lead to a change in Home Office immigration policy and a "difference" in the way asylum seekers are treated. It is believed the victims fell from the 15th floor of block 63 at the Red Road flat complex.

Many of the flats, which are earmarked for demolition, are occupied by asylum seekers and refugees. The building is owned by Glasgow Housing Association, which lets the majority of flats in it to the YMCA.

One of the neighbours who protested said the family "were only here for a better life". Faridh Pardak said: "I saw them several times in our building. They were a very good family. Their life was very dangerous in their country. I only saw them in the lift. On Sunday I was in my flat. I saw that the police were there. I went down and I saw the three people."

Ms Pardak, a former teacher from Iran, added that she was so upset by the deaths she had been unable to eat. "I want to know what happened to them," she said. "They were a good family. They came for a better life - not to die here."

The UK Border Agency has revealed that it was making arrangements to return the family to Canada, but "no imminent action" was planned.

In a statement, a UK Border Agency spokesman said: "Any death of this kind is a tragedy, and our deepest sympathies are with their family and friends at this time.

"We had advised the family that we were making arrangements to return them to Canada - where they had been granted protection. However, no imminent action to remove them from the UK had been planned.

"No UK Border Agency officers were in the vicinity when these events took place. We will continue to work with Strathclyde Police while this incident is under investigation."

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