Bright wristbands for asylum seekers in Cardiff slammed by human rights groups

A UK Home Office contractor supplying accommodation for asylum seekers has come under fire after reportedly giving migrants brightly coloured wristbands which they must wear at all times.

The wristbands have been handed out to asylum seekers staying at Lynx House in Cardiff so they can claim breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Housing bosses insist the bands are discreet and do not single out residents.

But the move — which comes following a similar controversy in the north of England last week — has been slammed by human rights groups.

The Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) claimed the wristbands echoed the yellow star Jewish people were forced to wear during the time of Nazi Germany.

WRC policy officer Hannah Wharf said: “We have raised the matter many times with the Welsh Government. It harks back to the Nazi regime with people being forced to wear a Star of David and stand out.

“It’s absolutely appalling, it is treating people like lesser beings. It is treating them like animals lining up to feed.”

According to reports, a 36-year-old refugee in Cardiff called Eric Ngalle said motorists on nearby roads would sometimes notice the wristbands and tell their wearers to “go back to your country”.

Clearsprings Ready Homes told The Guardian its policy came in the face of an increase in asylum seekers.

A spokesman was quoted in the newspaper as saying: “Volumes of people in initial accommodation sites, including Cardiff [have] increased quickly.

“Clearsprings has taken steps, agreed with the Home Office, to increase capacity in line with this demand in the form of additional self-catering accommodation.

“Those clients in the self-catering units receive a weekly allowance in the form of supermarket vouchers and those in full-board accommodation are issued with a coloured wristband that bears no other logo or text identifying its use or origin.

"Full-board clients are required to show their wristbands in order to receive meals in the restaurant.”

Asylum seekers in Middlesbrough said they had been targeted by racist thugs after being housed behind red front doors in the Teesside town.