The prisons watchdog has described “truly shocking” conditions in an immigration removal centre close to Heathrow airport as the worst its inspectors had ever seen.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons has published a damning report on conditions at Harmondsworth, a 658-bed centre, the largest of its kind in Europe.
In the 68-page report, the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said that “overall, the outcomes at Harmondsworth were the worst HMIP has found in its immigration removal centre inspections”.
Living areas inside the centre were found to be “dilapidated” and “decrepit” with some detainees so cold they sat in their cells in their coats. Fire doors were also at risk of not performing their function in some units because they had non-fire retardant surrounds.
Immigration detainees were found to be openly smoking cannabis, and ligature points had been left undisturbed for years despite being used for repeated suicide attempts.
The last full inspection of the centre was carried out in 2017. It was also critical but conditions have deteriorated significantly since then, according to the report, with six key areas of concern highlighted for improvement still giving rise to concerns.
Welfare support had also “deteriorated significantly” since the last inspection and too many members of staff were found to be staying in their office behind red “no entry” tapes.
Taylor said he was “shocked” to see detainees smoking cannabis, but almost a quarter of detainees said it was easy to get drugs inside Harmondsworth compared with 4% in other immigration detention centres. And 11% said they had developed a problem with illicit drug use compared with 2% in othercentres.
“The level of chaos that we found at Harmondsworth was truly shocking and we left deeply concerned that some of those held there were at imminent risk of harm,” said Taylor.
“Nobody should be detained in an immigration removal centre unless they are going to be removed quickly from the country, yet around 60% of detainees were released from the centre, with only a third deported, which begs the question of why so much taxpayer money was being spent keeping them locked up in the first place.”
There were numerous suicide attempts with almost half – 48% – of detainees saying they felt suicidal during their stay. There was one suicide attempt during the HMIP inspection, which took place from 12-29 February this year.
Emma Ginn, director of the charity Medical Justice, which supports immigration detainees, described the findings of the inspectors as “nothing short of a national emergency”.
“The Home Office has had long enough to improve detention conditions,” she said. “The fact that it can’t even organise for ligature points already used in three attempted suicides to be removed, demonstrates its inability to improve conditions and its contempt for human life.”
The inspectors highlighted some particularly worrying examples, including one man who was carried into Harmondsworth on a stretcher although the Home Office accepted he wasn’t fit to be detained. One man died in a hotel after his release from detention. He had previously been subjected to severe mistreatment and exploited for sex work and forced labour.
In the six months before the inspection, 23 detainees were identified as being at the greatest risk of suicide and it was decided that they should be placed on constant suicide watch. But according to the report, staff neglected to supervise one of them.
Some detainees complained of excessive use of force by staff and 6% of the 454 detained at the time of the inspection complained of physical assaults by staff. Last year, one member of staff was dismissed for assaulting a detainee, bullying and racism.
“The report paints a bleak picture of the continuing decline of a centre that has concerned inspectors for many years,” inspectors concluded.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously and it is vital that detention and removals are carried out with dignity and respect.
“The number of custody officers and dedicated welfare staff at Harmondsworth IRC has been increased since the inspection.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
