News

This piece is written by Rahwa Fessahaye, Advocacy Co-ordinator at Detention Action The first time I went to Verne IRC was in November 2014, a few weeks after I had returned from maternity leave. I was curious to see the centre as, up until that point, Detention Action had only run [...]

As well as shining a spotlight on the very specific physical sites of detention which make up the UK's detention estate, 'Unlocking Detention' is also about highlighting the ways in which detention impacts communities outside. With this week's focus on The Verne, Detention Action picked up their mic and asked three locals [...]

By Pat, a member of the Verne Visitors Group and Detention Forum volunteer Above the Chesil Beach It’s difficult not to think about location. Bus number 1 from Weymouth city centre goes towards Portland Island, the southernmost point in the county of Dorset. The island is tied to the mainland [...]

These piece was written anonymously for #Unlocked15 by a member of the Freed Voices group - a group of experts-by-experience who are dedicated to speaking out about the realities of detention in the UK and campaigning for detention reform. I am originally from a country in West Africa. I was [...]

This is a write-up of the Right to Remain annual conference which took place on 5th September 2015, which originally appeared on their website. While #unlocked15 'visits' physical places of immigration detention, let's not forget 'detention is everywhere'. You can read the original version with great photos and tweets here. “It always [...]

Welcome back to the Unlocking Detention tour. This year’s hashtag is #unlocked15, and we look forward to making new friends and opening more people’s eyes to the reality of immigration detention in the UK. For those who are unfamiliar to Unlocking Detention – it is a virtual tour of the [...]