§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Tamils have arrived in Britain from India seeking political asylum in the latest six months for which figures are available; how many have been returned to India; and how many of these have not been accepted by the Indian authorities.
§ Mr. Waddington[pursuant to his reply, 9 March 1987, c. 29–30]: Although statistics are not maintained in such a way as to give a precise answer to the question and are not maintained on an ethnic basis, it is estimated that at Heathrow terminals 3 and 4, which handle the majority of direct flights from India, a total of 350 Sri Lankan nationals have applied for asylum on arrival from India in the six months September 1986 to February 1987, inclusive. Of these, 36 have so far been removed to India, a number of whom have not been accepted by the Indian authorities.