Heathrow immigration centre shocking and dangerous, says Watchdog

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Legend, Conditions at Heathrow detention centre described as ‘shocking’

4 hours ago

Conditions at a west London immigration detention centre were “the worst” in the country – and so bad that the chief inspector of prisons says he raised concerns with the then home secretary.

A report has found that Harmondsworth immigration detention centre near Heathrow Airport was “chaotic”, “truly shocking” and putting detainees in “imminent danger”.

Charlie Taylor, of the Prison Observatory, described the facility as overcrowded and “decrepit”, with “widespread” drug use and violence. He said he contacted James Cleverly in March, but neither Mr Cleverly nor his department responded.

The Interior Ministry said staff numbers had been increased since the inspection.

Mitie Care and Custody, which runs Harmondsworth, said occupancy rates had been affected by parts of the centre being closed for refurbishment.

‘Do not enter’

The chief inspector’s letter to Mr Cleverly was prompted by the findings of a report that conditions at the centre had deteriorated since the previous inspection.

The number of assaults had doubled, there had been several serious suicide attempts and the cells had been doubled to accommodate more men.

The watchdog also found that if inmates refused to share an overcrowded cell, they were held in a segregation unit until they agreed.

Staff remained largely in offices with “Do Not Enter” signs posted on their doors, the watchdog warned.

Mr Taylor said: “The level of chaos we found at Harmondsworth was truly shocking and we left deeply concerned that some of the people held there were in imminent danger.

“No one should be held in an administrative detention center unless they are expeditiously expelled from the country. Yet, about 60% of detainees have been released from the center, and only a third of them have been expelled. It begs the question why so much taxpayer money was spent to keep them locked up.”

Legend, It has been difficult to recruit senior staff, the report says

Mr Taylor wrote to former Conservative Home Secretary Mr Cleverly on March 12 after an inspection in February.

He said he had “exposed the centre’s many failures” but had “received no response”.

Although Harmondsworth’s new director has a “good understanding” of many of the challenges facing the centre and is “starting to make good progress” in improving conditions, she will “need strong and consistent support at all levels to be successful”, Mr Taylor added.

Kolbassia Haoussou, a refugee who fled torture in Africa and now works for the charity Freedom from Torture, said he was detained at Harmondsworth when he arrived in the UK in 2005.

He said he knew “all too well how deeply damaging detention can be” and called on the new Labour government to “rebuild a just asylum system that respects human dignity and the rule of law”.

According to the report, Mitie faced many challenges, including a staff shortage.

The investigation found that a “chaotic re-tendering process” by the Home Office meant that managers had “no idea whether they would continue to run the centre in the coming months”.

Contractual uncertainty has been a problem since last year, making it “virtually impossible to recruit permanent managers, who may only be in post for a few weeks”, the watchdog said.

Mitie said the company had acknowledged that conditions and the level of care “were below the level we would expect in this facility” during the inspection.

Occupancy rates have been affected by the closure of some areas for renovation, he said. “This work is expected to be completed in August, after which a second wing (the condition of which was particularly criticised by the inspection) will itself be closed for renovation.”

Mitie added that the demographics of the centre’s population had changed and more than half of the residents now came from police custody or prisons, leading to an increase in disruptive behaviour and incidents.

However, the company said a “new staffing model” had led to “material improvement” in staff engagement and retention.

The Home Office said: “It is essential that detention and deportations are carried out with dignity and respect.

“The number of dedicated custody and social care staff at Harmondsworth Prison has been increased since the inspection.”