Deportation Unit at Gatwick airport comes in for heavy criticism

13th July 2010

Gatwick Airport Deportation Unit receives damming report    

According to a recent report compiled by Dame Anne Owers the chief inspector of prisons, Gatwick airport deportation unit is one of the UK's least safe immigration detention facilities.The  immigration deportation centre at Gatwick airport, which is privately run, is apparently fundamentally unsafe.

An inspection carried out by Dame Anne and her team a year after the Brook House centre was opened showed that it was one of the least safe facilities that had previously been inspected.Her report stated that bullying and violence were major problems at the time of their inspection in March  along with drug issues. 

Some staff felt they had no support from their managers while others were being bullied by some detainees.

Those who were awaiting deportation were held in two oppressive holding rooms, with no seats or windows. Because it was built as a short term holding centre, there are no education or activity plans in place.

The report stated that it was designed to hold  detainees for no more than 72 hours, but many inmates are there for an average of three months.

Many of the 400 male detainees held at Brook House are ex-prisoners facing deportation. Several spoke out and said that their time in Brook House was worse than their time in prison. A significant number of staff left after serious disorder incident in June last year when detainees started fires and damaged one wing.

Because of the inadequate facilities, and the continued threat of violence from the detainees, staff had resorted to using isolation as a deterrent, although this was against detention centre rules.

Owers reccommended that matters were urgently addressed, and David Wood, Director of criminality stated that swift action had been taken, stating that an anti-bullying policy was now in place and a proper drug strategy was in force. Additional support staff have been recruited and Brook House will be carefully monitored over the coming months,