A 10-year-old boy who crossed the Channel in a small boat was denied a phone call to his mother at an immigration centre in Kent, according to a new inspection that found a number of ongoing failures at processing sites. A review of three short-term holding immigration centres found that, while the sites were operating better than 2022, officials are failing to refer traumatised children for help and migrants were still being held for far too long – with one child held for 51 hours at Manston detention centre.
The unannounced inspection of Western Jet Foil, Manston, and Kent Intake Units took place at the beginning of July. During the previous six months, 1,147 unaccompanied children had been held at the sites, almost all at the Kent unit which is set up for young people. At Western Jet Foil, there were two cases of lone children being held in breach of the 24-hour limit; one for 42 hours and one for 37 hours. At Manston, 11 children who were accompanied by family members had been held for over 24 hours. Accompanied children can legally be held for up to 72 hours.
Inspectors found that a 10-year-old lone Afghan boy had a welfare interview at the Kent site at 10:38pm without an appropriate adult. At the start of the interview, he said: “I want to speak to my mum, please. I want a mobile,” but his request was denied by an officer. Inspectors also found that officials were failing to refer some children for help. In one case, no safeguarding referral was made for a 16-year-old boy who had been held for ransom and physically abused in Libya for about three months. In another case, there was no referral for a 16-year-old girl who had been sold to pay family debts and trafficked to the UK.
One Care & Custody officer had also been dismissed in the six months leading up to the inspection. This was for “aggressively pulling a sleeping child to his feet and making disparaging comments to him.”
Between December 2023 and March 2024, 10,316 detainees had been held in Manston, which is used for people who have just arrived in the UK from small boat crossings. The inspection found that nine lone children had been mistaken for adults and sent to Manston in the months up to June 2024. The site became extremely overcrowded in October 2022, with migrants reportedly sleeping on cardboard and one man dying of diphtheria.
HM Chief inspector Charlie Taylor identified four priority concerns at the three sites. These included the length of detention being too long for many migrants, issues with safeguarding referrals, failure to ensure that detainees had fresh air or a bed, and lack of interpretation. The inspection comes after it was reported that the government has only agreed to one out of 33 recommendations made by a public inquiry into abuse at the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre. The Brook House inquiry, which looked at abuse at the site in 2017, recommended that detention was limited to 28 days. Among other things it called on the Home Office to improve safeguarding of vulnerable people, and reform use of force within detention centres.
Last week an inquest jury found “multiple failings” and “missed opportunities” at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre contributed to a Colombian man taking his own life in 2023. A Independent Monitoring Board report also found that children had been subjected to unnecessary suffering at an immigration removal site near Gatwick airport. Despite calls for a more “humane immigration system,” home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans to reopen two immigration detention centres as part of a push to achieve the highest rate of removals since 2018.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Since the inspection took place in July, under the new government we have already taken action to address some of HMIP’s recommendations. We are improving our processes around safeguarding and professional interpretation for arrivals, and any gaps will be identified by frontline staff at the earliest opportunity. We will continue working closely with the Inspectorate to deliver further improvements.”
It is essential that vulnerable children and migrants are treated with care and respect, especially in such challenging circumstances. The findings of the inspection highlight the need for urgent reforms and improvements in the immigration detention system to ensure the safety and well-being of those in its care. Actions must be taken to address the systemic issues identified and to prevent further harm to individuals seeking refuge and protection. The government and relevant authorities must work together to uphold human rights standards and provide necessary support to those in need.
