[Aljazeera] Private contractor Serco reportedly locking asylum seekers out of accommodation in Scottish city, angering campaigners.Glasgow, Scotland - Signs reading People Make Glasgow may dominate Scotland's largest metropolis, but not every visitor has enjoyed the hospitality of what has often been called a friendly city.
Some 300 asylum seekers who live in apartments - often several people to a room - in some of the most deprived areas of Glasgow are living under the threat of eviction, having been told by the Home Office that they cannot stay in the United Kingdom.
Mourad Khelfane, an Algerian engineer, is among them. He arrived in Britain in 2015 and has spent the better part of two years in the Scottish city.
Months ago, the Home Office declined his application for leave to remain, a move that deprived him of state support.
He soon received a letter warning he would be evicted as part of a lock-changing programme, in which fixtures on doors are being changed to lock asylum seekers out of their accommodation.
These efforts have, according to reports, already made three people homeless.
The letter to Khelfane was signed by Serco, a private company contracted by the British government to provide social housing in Scotland.
"I don't feel good and I can't even sleep," said the 29-year-old, who still lives at his accommodation but worries he too will soon lose his home.