Zimbabwean held in detention centre attempts suicide

A Zimbabwean woman who is being held in a UK detention centre is reported to have tried to hang herself last week after an application for bail failed. Lorraine Thulambo, 18, whose father was murdered by Robert Mugabe’s men, has been held in Yarl’s Wood for more than two months with her mother Priviledge, 39, and her sister Valerie, 20.

The family’s predicament was first reported in the IoS when they were detained in December. They are Zimbabwean nationals, but because they entered the UK on Malawian passports eight years ago, they have had their claims for asylum rejected.

“I’m very worried about her,” said her mother. “She wrote a letter saying she was tired of the situation and the suffering. It’s just going on and on. We can’t see an end.”

The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said: “This just shows the human tragedy that often goes unnoticed in our asylum system.”

Their solicitor has applied for an oral hearing, but the family could be removed at any time.