§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons of Iranian nationality claiming to be refugees have arrived in the United Kingdom from Turkey in each of the past four years; how many were given asylum in the United Kingdom; how many were returned to Turkey; and what representations he has received regarding the Turkish practice of returning such people to Iran.
§ Mr. Tim RentonAs applicants for asylum are recorded by nationality and not by country of embarkation, the figures requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Whilst we have received representations on individual cases of Iranian asylum-seekers from Turkey, I am unaware of any case of an Iranian refugee being sent back to Iran following return to Turkey from this country. Turkey is a signatory to the 1951 UN convention on refugees. There is a UNHCR presence in Turkey to which any Iranian may look for assistance.