William Hague has said the government will investigate claims that Tamil asylum seekers are being deported from the UK to Sri Lanka despite evidence they have been subjected to rape and sexual abuse by the country's security forces.

Refugees, their lawyers and advocacy groups made the allegations on Tuesday on the opening day of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the UK, which has faced accusations of hypocrisy over the issue.

Lawyers even reported an acceleration of deportations of Tamils in recent weeks, which they believed has been triggered by anticipation of new Sri Lankan guidelines expected to bolster the cases of Tamil asylum seekers fleeing torture.

The foreign secretary pointed out that asylum decisions are handled by the home secretary, Theresa May, but that the Foreign Office contributes to country by country assessments of human rights.

He promised an investigation and training for immigration officers to make them more sensitive to the plight of rape victims. "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," Hague told the Guardian.

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