Report details 'inhumane' treatment of migrants at Gatwick centre
Serious concerns have been raised about conditions at Brook House
The Home Office's busy schedule of deportation flights last year saw "inhumane treatment'' of detainees being held near Gatwick Airport, a report has found.
One staff member - a Serco employee - was witnessed remarking that an asylum-seeker "can't be allowed to show that self-harm will stop deportation''.
Serious concerns were raised by the Independent Monitoring Board visiting Brook House, where people are held pending possible removal from the UK.
The report, published by volunteers tasked by ministers to scrutinise conditions in custody, found high levels of self-harm and suicidal ideation and serious delays in assessing torture claims.
They noted "distressing'' statistics around mental health of people in Brook House and described an "atmosphere of tension, fear and despair pervasive among detainees''.
However they found that despite "very challenging circumstances'' in 2020, men detained at Brook House were generally treated humanely while there and staff-detainee relationships were generally positive.
Serco said action was being taken to address "rare occasions'' of staff expressing "desensitised points of view''.
The Home Office said "the health and welfare of those in detention is of the utmost importance''.
The controversial centre is located about 200 metres from the airport runway and can house up to 448 people, though considerably fewer were held there in 2020 during the pandemic.
During the latter half of the year, Brook House was used to house people who had arrived in the UK by crossing the English Channel aboard small boats.
They were held there pending their removal under the Dublin regulation, which allows EU member states to return asylum seekers to the EU country they first entered.
With the UK leaving behind the Dublin regulation on December 31, 2020 following Brexit, the Home Office put on a concentrated schedule of charter flights during the second half of the year.
Brook House IMB chair Mary Molyneux said:
"While we consider that men detained in Brook House are generally treated humanely, the impact of the Home Office's unusually compressed charter flight programme on an especially vulnerable population led to unprecedented levels of self-harm and suicidal thoughts and attempts in the last five months of 2020.
"Our concerns were such that we wrote to the Home Office minister about them in October. These flights stopped in December.''
Serco took over the running of Brook House on behalf of the Home Office on May 21 2020, after the expiry of G4S's contract.
While investigators found that relationships between officers and detainees "appear generally positive'', they also witnessed a few instances where staff expressed "what appear to be desensitised points of view''.
This included comments like "he can't be allowed to show that self-harm will stop deportation'' - apparently in reference to a man who had just made a determined attempt to self-harm.
The report raises concerns about high numbers of people on constant supervision because of concerns about self-harm and threats of suicide.
It adds:
"The statistics are distressing, and so too was the Board's experience of monitoring in the latter part of 2020.
"On our visits to the centre and from conversations with detainees and staff during that time, we felt that there was usually an atmosphere of tension, fear and despair pervasive among detainees, and great stress on staff caring for them.''
Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said the "most explosive finding'' in the report was that Home Secretary Priti Patel's "continuing policy of rushed mass expulsions has led directly to a sharp increase in suicide attempts and self-harm''.
She added: "To subject hundreds of people to such unbearable mental distress crosses a line and shames her Government.
"And to what end? Most people subjected to this mistreatment were released back into our communities, damaged and traumatised by a so-called Great Office of State.''
Steve Hewer, Serco contract director at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre, said:
"We are pleased that the IMB recognises that detainees are generally treated humanely at Brook House in what was a challenging year with the impact of Covid.
"As the Board also notes, relationships between Serco officers and the detainees appear generally positive and they have highlighted that on numerous occasions Board members have recorded observations of detainees being treated with dignity and respect and have witnessed good interactions and relationships.
"Members have also recorded examples of detainees telling us that they feel they are treated well.''
Mr Hewer said staff numbers have increased and training refreshed since Serco took over management of Brook House.
He added:
"We have also started a long-term 'Positive Detention Culture' programme that will address the rare occasions of staff expressing desensitised points of view and we have made it very clear to all our employees that this kind of language is unacceptable.''
A Home Office spokesperson said:
"The health and welfare of those in detention is of the utmost importance. We have clear, established processes to ensure people at risk are given extra support and the report demonstrates that these are used appropriately.
We are glad that the report acknowledges the work done by staff in very challenging circumstances and that those detained were treated humanely.
"Immigration detention is always considered on a case-by-case basis and we will continue to work to ensure that the needs of those in detention are met. But, as the public would expect, we remain determined to remove those with no right to be in the UK.''