SERCO'S lock-change evictions of asylum seekers have been ruled lawful by Scotland's highest court.

The company, which is a contractor for the Home Office, had provided free accommodation to 330 asylum seekers in Glasgow but announced it would be issuing eviction notices to them last summer. 

The evictions were temporarily paused until this year when the residents reported that their locks had been changed.

While Serco handed its contract to Mears Group in September, the firm continues to provide housing for about 150 people whose applications for asylum have been rejected. The number of those at risk has been reduced as some people were evicted or had their asylum seeker status reinstated. 

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Around 130 interdicts to delay the removal of the residents were granted by Glasgow Sheriff Court this summer, with courts deciding to wait until the outcome of the appeal was known.

Legal action against the move has been ongoing since summer 2018. But now, after several appeals, the Inner House of the Court of Session has announced that the evictions, without court orders, were lawful.

The Scottish Refugee Council warned that evictions - without court orders - of people in the asylum system will now be legal to carry out.

The organisation said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the decision.

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Serco CEO Julia Rogers said the Inner House showed the firm's method was "completely proper and within the law".

She added her firm had been demonised despite it providing millions of pounds in support to people whose asylum applications have been rejected across the UK. 

Serco now says it will start to return the properties to their owners "in a considered and sensitive manner".

The Home Office said that if a person has no legal right to be in the UK there is no legal basis to give them support. However it said it would give accommodation and support to people who would be made destitute by the change or be unable to leave the country.