The asylum seeker who was shot dead by police after stabbing six people in a hotel in Glasgow wanted to leave Britain because he was ‘not happy’, a hearing was told.
Living in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels can be ‘particularly challenging’, a senior civil servant told a fatal incident inquiry (FAI) on Tuesday.
Sudanese national Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh, 28, was shot and killed by police after his knife rampage at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow on June 26, 2020.
Officers had tried to use non-lethal weapons to subdue Bosh but were forced to gun him down.
He had stabbed three other asylum seekers, two hotel workers and a police officer who had responded to the initial emergency call.
Home Office civil servant Paul Bilbao today discussed Bosh’s application to return to his country of origin under the voluntary return scheme.
The FAI hearing was shown an application form relating to this, where Bosh was asked: ‘What is your reason for leaving the UK?’
The form listed his reason as ‘not happy’, the hearing was told.
Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh, 28, went on a knife rampage in Glasgow in 2020 and was shot dead by the police. It’s now been revealed he wanted to leave the UK because he was ‘not happy’
Forensic officers investigating the scene where Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh was shot
Parts of the inquiry have been looking into Bosh’s mental health before he carried out the attacks, and the concerns that were raised about this.
Andrew Webster KC – who questioned Mr Bilbao and represented the Home Office – noted that no medical issues had been raised, other than a possible stomach ulcer.
The hearing also saw a message from an official at Mears, the group which provided the asylum accommodation for the Home Office.
It related to concerns about Bosh’s behaviour the night before the fatal incident on June 26.
The Mears official recounted a conversation with Bosh, who said he ‘hadn’t threatened anyone’.
The official noted that Bosh ‘seems a bit confused’.
Sheriff Stuart Reid asked Mr Bilbao some further questions, including about the mental health situation of those staying in hotels during the pandemic.
The civil servant said he recognised that asylum seekers could be ‘particularly vulnerable’.
Mr Bilbao said: ‘It could be particularly challenging for people who were there for a long time, they could feel there was a lack of agency.’
The Home Office started using hotels to house asylum seekers around 2014/15, under a contracting arrangement, Mr Bilbao said.
During the pandemic, there was an ‘everyone in’ policy which increased demand, he said.
Mr Bilbao said this was about ‘making sure nobody was homeless during the pandemic’.
He said the Home Office wanted to end the use of such hotels for asylum accommodation, adding: ‘It had benefits, it had downsides, but it was absolutely the only option available.’
The inquiry continues at Glasgow Sheriff Court, before Sheriff Reid.
The purpose of an FAI includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the death occurred, and establishing what reasonable precautions could have been taken to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.
Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature and are used to establish facts rather than apportion blame.
