Bid to cut forced deportations

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The Independent Asylum Commission (IAC) also said that "dawn raids" by immigration officers should be phased out except in extreme circumstances.

The IAC - an informal committee of experts including peers, lawyers, churchmen and others with an interest in the asylum system - called for independent research into why failed asylum seekers do not return home voluntarily.

Its report said there are 283,500 failed asylum seekers in Britain. Previous estimates have put the figure as high as 500,000.

"Voluntary return should be the standard procedure of return for refused asylum seekers... Enforced return should be a certainty for those who do not comply, but also a last resort," it said.

Failed applicants who are unable to return through no fault of their own, such as Zimbabweans who oppose president Robert Mugabe's regime, should be given temporary permission to work, it added.

Ifath Nawaz, co-chairwoman of the commission and President of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said: "We hope the Government and political parties will take note of our recommendations, which we believe are necessary to restoring public confidence.

"The current system serves nobody's interests - with over a quarter of a million refused asylum seekers still here and officially destitute, people like the Zimbabweans in a state of limbo - unable to go back but prevented from working in the UK in the meantime.

"And at the same time we are incapable of ensuring the return of some of those who do not need sanctuary and who we want to leave the UK."

The document said all possible steps should be taken to avoid dawn raids on people for deportation, and those deported forcibly should have the right to sort out their property and money before leaving.