'A gross violation': Asylum seekers say post is being opened without consent at Direct Provision centres
RESIDENTS IN A number of Direct Provision centres have claimed that management and staff regularly open their post without permission.
He said the bank in question “wouldn’t send a letter like that”, adding: “You wouldn’t expect the post office to open a letter. Why would they open it? They have no reason to.”Mahmud said other residents at the centre have had similar experiences, claiming the contents of a letter sent to a man from his brother in Pakistan were brought up at a meeting with IPO officials.
“When we posted [the photo of Mahmud's letter] on Facebook, we heard from other asylum seekers that their mail had been opened as well,” Mfaco said. Opening another person’s post without permission is in breach of the Post and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, as well as GDPR. “As such, RIA has a data protection policy. Where a resident feels that their privacy may have been compromised, RIA would request that they contact them directly and they will speak immediately to the accommodation management.