A LEGAL firm has called for an “urgent review” into immigration operations after an inquest concluded the actions of officers may have contributed to the death of a Sudanese man at a Newport car wash.

Mustafa Dawood, who was 23, died after he climbed onto a rood at the Shaftesbury hand car wash in Albany Road, where he was working, when uniformed immigration officers turned up on June 30, 2018.

A five-day inquest into his death delivered a narrative conclusion, saying that the officers had not been properly trained in how to conduct pursuits.

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And now, a spokesman for Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, which represented Mr Dawood’s family during the inquest, “Mustafa was a young man who fled persecution from the Sudanese authorities to find a safer life in the UK,” they said.

“When immigration officers arrived at the car wash he was working at, he fled from them in fear that he would be sent back to Sudan, as the Home Office had refused his asylum claim.

“Evidence at the inquest confirmed he was never going to be arrested, and was not removable from the UK.

“Nevertheless, immigration officers pursued him during the enforcement visit of June 30, 2018, putting him in a desperately risky and vulnerable situation.

“The jury today found that if the officers had stopped their pursuit and retreated when Mustafa began to climb a nearby warehouse, he may not have died.

“Mustafa’s family are devastated and shocked: they thought Mustafa would be safe in the UK, and cannot understand why the Home Office treated him as they did.

“It is a matter of national shame that, as part of the re-named “compliant environment” the Home Office continues to irresponsibly and dangerously pursue vulnerable people during enforcement visits which, as Mustafa’s case shows, has devastating consequences.

“The Home Office needs to urgently review its policies and practices in light of this tragic incident, and to prevent further deaths in the future.”

In their narrative conclusion delivered at the end of the five-day inquest on Friday, the jury found the officers had remained "relatively close" and not withdrawn from Mr Dawood after the order to end the pursuit had been given. This proximity could possibly have contributed to his death.

They also concluded the call to abandon the pursuit was not communicated effectively to officers. Again, this could possibly have contributed to Mr Dawood's death, as could the decision of one officer to keep his baton in a 'racked' position at his shoulder.

Officers had also not had appropriate practical training on the pursuit procedure, the jury said, and this could possibly have contributed to Mr Dawood's death.

Speaking at the inquest, Caroline Saunders, the senior coroner for Gwent said she had heard evidence of some policy changes made after Mr Dawood died, but given the jury's conclusions, she would be making formal recommendations for further changes around the provision of practical pursuit training for immigration officers.

In a statement issued after the inquest, a Home Office spokesman said they had "co-operated fully with the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s investigation, and accepted their recommendations".

"This was a tragic incident and our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Mr Dawood," they said. 

“We’ve made a number of improvements to our practices following the incident but will carefully consider the findings from the inquest and any further recommendations by the coroner to see what lessons can be learned.”