Individuals detained at two detention centres report experiencing physical, psychological and emotional abuse at the hands of officers
Banners and placards outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the occasion of a permission hearing at the High Court for a former detainee at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre. Photo: Mark Kerrison/Alamy Live News
Read our Digital & Print Editions
And support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system
A group of more than 100 detainees say that they have been subjected to extreme physical, psychological and emotional abuse at two immigration removal centres.
A report produced by asylum seekers at Harmondsworth and Brook House alleges that guards have intimidated, humiliated and been physically abusive towards them. The group is calling for access to legal representation and healthcare and the respect for universal human rights.
“We are not criminals; we are refugees seeking safety and freedom,” they said in a statement. “Our only ‘crime’ was crossing the English Channel and requesting asylum.”
They added: “Healthcare is inadequate, legal representation is denied, families are isolated, and basic human rights are violated. People are mentally deteriorating due to constant fear, harassment, and uncertainty about their fate… Our lives are at risk.”
Their report includes incidents of alleged abuse, including the removal of several people “taken to France against their will” under the government’s ‘one in, one out scheme’.
EXCLUSIVE
The 13-year-old girl, who she was given parental responsibility over after being abandoned by her parents, could be sent into state care because of the Home Office’s decision
Nicola Kelly
One Ethiopian man reported being physically beaten for protesting his removal. The group says that the families of those who have been deported to France under the scheme are given no information about their relatives’ location or welfare, raising serious safety concerns.
In one case, a man with severe mental health issues was told he could not access treatment because he already had a plane ticket to France. Several detainees have attempted suicide but been dismissed without adequate treatment or psychological support, the report found.
In October 2025, charity Medical Justice told the Home Affairs Select Committee that all those people its clinicians had assessed in immigration removal centres, who had been detained pending removal, had a serious mental health condition. Suicidal thoughts were “alarmingly common” with several people stating that they wished to die rather than be deported to France.
Emma Ginn, Director of Medical Justice said: “Clinical safeguards in UK immigration detention do not operate as intended, and fail to identify, protect and route out vulnerable people unsuitable for detention. The harm caused by immigration detention is widely acknowledged.”
In 2023, the Brook House Inquiry identified a “toxic culture” and “credible evidence” of breaches of human rights law including the use of racist, derogatory language by some staff towards detainees. The Inquiry followed a BBC Panorama documentary in which guards at the detention centre were seen adopting use-of-force techniques to provoke or punish people. The programme also showed the endemic use of drugs, the failure to report incidents of attempted suicide and the frequent racial abuse of detainees.
Last year, three individuals took legal action against the Government for its failure to comply with the 33 recommendations in the Brook House Inquiry final report. The claimants, who were all former immigration detainees, said that they had been subject to mistreatment. They argued that neither the Conservative nor the Labour governments have taken steps to comply with the recommendations and have actively weakened safeguards through their policies, putting greater numbers of vulnerable people at risk of harm in detention.
Home Office sources tell Byline Times that local Labour MPs are opposing plans by the Home Secretary to use barracks and army bases to house asylum seekers amid rising community tensions
Nicola Kelly
The group of 100 asylum seekers who produced the latest report state that they fear being detained alongside people with serious criminal convictions. They say that detainees are “taught how to buy and sell drugs” to others incarcerated at the facilities.
The report also highlights lack of access to medical care at the two removal centres as a particular concern. A Syrian man with bullet wounds, who had multiple surgeries, was left in pain, denied hospital treatment and given only paracetamol for weeks on end, the group say.
Frequent alarms cause additional distress, there is no access to communication, including use of a computer, and detainees are not allowed a smartphone, making it expensive to call or message family and friends. This, the group says, adds to a sense of isolation and mental disturbance.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We do not recognise the claims relating to conditions at Harmondsworth and Brook House. We regard the welfare of people detained in our care as being of utmost importance.
“Protecting the UK border is our top priority. Our landmark one-in-one-out scheme means we can now send those who arrive on small boats straight back to France – striking at the heart of the criminal gangs’ business model.”
ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE? HELP US TO PRODUCE MORE
Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.
We’re not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.