By Colombo Telegraph –

Freedom from Torture finds 15 failed asylum seekers later won refugee status but Tory minister says torture claims are unproven, the Guardian reports.

Fifteen Sri Lankan nationals have claimed they were tortured and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment after they were forcibly removed to the country by the UK Border Agency, the Home Office has said, the newspaper reports.

According to the Guardian, in a freedom of information (FoI) request, the Home Office revealed that between the end of the island’s civil war in 2009 and September 2012, 15 failed asylum seekers managed to escape back to Britain after being removed by the agency, the UKBA. They subsequently won refugee status after giving evidence to officials saying they were tortured in Sri Lanka.

Read more in the Guardian