Amendment to short-term holding facility rules
Our friends at the Refugee Council recently highlighted that the government has quietly changed the rules on detention following the Manston crisis a month or so ago - extending lawful detention for people seeking refugee protection to 96 hours. The previous short-term holding facility rules 2018 stated that a "holding room” [...]
Damning report on Hassockfield Detention Centre
This month we saw the publication of a damning report by His Majesty's Inspector of Prisons following an unannounced visit he had made to Hassockfield detention centre (now called the Derwentside IRC) back in August. The best response we can make is quote Alison Stancliffe from our friends at No to [...]
Rise in people detained -but there is an alternative!
It was sobering to see the reports in the press recently highlighting the fact that the number of people detained in immigration detention facilities increased sharply in the last year. The amount increased to 2,987 in the year ending September 2022 – a rise of 231%, according to recently released [...]
New report on GPS tagging
BID, Medical Justice and Public Law Project have just published research – Every move you make: the human impact of GPS tagging in immigration bail – documenting the harm caused by Electronic Monitoring in the immigration system. The report is based on 19 interviews with people who were made to [...]
New report from the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group (GDWG) working in partnership with the Strategic Public Law Clinic (SPLC) have released a new report The Right to Community Equivalent Healthcare in Immigration Removal Centres: A Public Law Analysis of Systemic Issues in the Inspection Regime. Anyone who is detained by the state is entitled [...]
New report by HM Inspector of Prisons
A new report by HM Inspector of Prisons, out yesterday, has shown that delays and confusion have kept people in immigration detention behind bars unnecessarily. Their review of the experience of immigration detainees held in prisons has found that they were markedly disadvantaged compared with those held in immigration removal [...]
Manston camp like a pressure cooker
There have been reports in the media that people are being held at the Manston short-term holding facility in Kent beyond the 24-48 hours with some people staying there for a week. The Prison Officers Association has described conditions there being like a 'pressure cooker', and people are being accommodated [...]
Next National Demonstration – No to Hassockfield
The next national demonstration against the new detention centre at Hassockfield (Derwentside) will be held 12-2pm on Saturday 15th October 2022 outside the centre. Their speakers will be those with lived experience and they have music from, amongst others, Bethany Elen, who will share songs written with those with lived [...]