British Foreign Secretary William Hague has stated the UK government will investigate claims that Tamil rape victims are being deported to Sri Lanka were they face torture by security forces, in an interview to the Guardian on Tuesday.

His pledge comes after the Guardian reported that a Tamil asylum seeker faces deportation from the UK for a second time, despite being "beaten, branded, suffocated and rape" on his first deportation. See here for more.

Hague was joined by the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie, who also said she was to meet female Tamil refugees in Britain and discuss the issue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees during the course of the four-day summit.

When questioned over reports that Tamil asylum seekers who had been raped were being sent back to Sri Lanka, the British Foreign Secretary told the Guardian,

"We are a country that is open to asylum seekers. We uphold our standards very strictly, and whenever anyone thinks we are not doing that, we are always happy to investigate."

"I particularly discussed with the home secretary already the importance, which she fully agrees with, of our immigration officers being trained in how they deal with people who have suffered sexual violence abroad."

"These things are discussed across government. They will continue to be. Where people have a valid point, a valid complaint, we will take it up. This is something the whole government feels strongly about."

"So be in no doubt: where there are issues, we will investigate them."