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Solution to asylum crisis became 'Scotland’s shame'

It was described as "Scotland's shame" and its role in detaining children of failed asylum seekers brought widespread condemnation - but if the pilot scheme announced today succeeds, Dungavel's notoriety will be consigned to the history books, writes Bill Tinning.

The South Lanarkshire detention centre was controversial from its opening in 2001, but it was the plight of the Ay family, first raised by The Herald, that highlighted the personal suffering of families caught in the system.

In January 2004, Scottish Catholic Bishop John Mone said that holding children in prison-like conditions such as Dungavel "shamed the people of this country".

The Bishop of Paisley, also president of the Catholic Church's justice and peace commission, called on then Home Secretary David Blunkett to find more humane ways of dealing with families.

However, children are still detained at the centre. The Scottish Refugee Council, campaigning to stop the detention of families, says the new 72-hour time limit is inhumane. The number of children presently detained is not disclosed by authorities.

Full story at The Herald.