LONDON (AP) — A private company that required asylum-seekers to wear red wristbands says it has dropped the practice after facing heavy criticism.
A statement from Clearsprings Ready Homes said it has decided to end the practice Monday. The policy had come under fire from legislators who warned it singled migrants out for possible harassment and abuse.
It affected asylum-seekers in Cardiff, Wales, who are being sheltered by Clearsprings Ready Homes, a company contracted by the British government to provide food and shelter.
Lawmakers and others had criticized the policy as unfair.
Some migrants have said wearing the wristbands has exposed them to abuse from local residents.
Questions about the policy follows news last week that some migrants elsewhere in Britain had had their doors painted red, making them targets for vandalism and racial abuse.