CAMPAIGNERS demonstrated yesterday outside the opening of an inquest into the death of an asylum-seeker in custody at Manchester airport and for an independent investigation.

Pakistani man Tahir Mehmood had applied for asylum but was refused permission to stay in Britain.

He was arrested and taken to Pennine House short-term holding facility, a 32-bed detention centre operated by private security firm Tascor at Manchester airport on July 26 2013 to await deportation.

At 5.20pm that day Greater Manchester Police were called to the centre and were informed that Mr Mehmood had died following a “medical episode.”

The cause of his death has not been revealed, although a post-mortem examination has been carried out and an inquest into his death opened yesterday.

A demonstration outside the Coroner’s Court in Manchester was organised by Manchester-based Refugee and Asylum Participatory Action Research.

Asylum charity the Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (Avid) said that short-term holding centres such as Pennine House had no clear rules on the healthcare they must provide for detainees. 

“We have been concerned for some time that the provision in short-term holding facilities falls short of the standards in other facilities,” said an Avid spokeswoman.

“There is no published equivalent to the statutory 'detention centre rules' which govern longer-stay detention facilities. These rules include the minimum provisions in detention on, for example, access to healthcare.

“We call for this death to be the subject of an independent investigation.”