Six months after the Brook House inquiry was concluded, the government has dismissed its crucial recommendation of setting a time limit on detaining immigrants
The inquiry was intended to prevent the recurrence of the inhumane treatment suffered by migrants at the scandal-hit Brook House immigration centre.
This inquiry, in which the Home Office was the main inquiry subject, was in response to BBC’s investigative current affairs documentary broadcast in September 2017, which included covert footage of abuse of detained people at Brook House immigration removal centre (IRC) by a number of contracted service provider staff.
Kate Eves, the Chairwoman of the inquiry, revealed shocking findings, that there were 19 incidents of mistreatment against detainees over a five-month period. Her investigation also revealed a toxic environment in the IRC where detainees were forcibly stripped naked before being relocated, racist remarks and aggressive behaviors were being dismissed as banter. Detainees were also subjected to mocking and derogatory language.
These revelations underscored systemic failures within the immigration detention system, raising questions about oversight and safeguards for vulnerable individuals.
Upon the release of the inquiry’s conclusive report, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman acknowledged the ‘shortcomings in oversight and governance’ that failed to safeguard the welfare of detainees at the centre.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Home Office further responded, stating: ‘The government rejects the recommendation to impose a time limit on detention. Such a measure would greatly hinder the process of removing individuals who have violated immigration laws and declined to depart the UK voluntarily.’
The government argued that they have accepted some recommendations put forward by the inquiry aimed at safeguarding the rights and dignity of detainees within immigration removal centres.
As the public debate on asylum and immigration system rages on, the voices of detainees and whistleblowers continue to reverberate, demanding justice and accountability for past wrongs.
Ms Eves responded: ‘I am concerned that the inquiry’s recommendations have not been accepted in full; in particular the recommendation of a 28-day time limit on detaining people in environments designed as prisons.’
She further added these recommendations have to be implemented ‘wholesale’ otherwise there is a real prospect that these episodes would happen again.
