The report also reveals incidents of adult and child detainees being denied access to medication, which ‘puts their health and wellbeing at risk’. It says detainees encounter difficulties accessing legal assistance. The report also looks at the treatment of detainees at two immigration reporting centres: Becket House and Eaton House. The IMB – composed of volunteers appointed by ministers – the current conditions in the facilities are not good enough, with migrants detained in holding rooms for inhumanely long periods.
The detention facility inside Heathrow Airport is described as ‘adequate’ for a short period of time but ‘unsatisfactory if the stay is more than a few hours, especially for children’, the IMB noting the absence of natural light and fresh air.
About 2,000 children – some unaccompanied – were detained in these facilities between February 2019 and January 2020. 73 of these children were kept inside the facility for over 12 hours, with 14 being held for more than 24 hours.
The report states that 2,145 adult detainees were held in the facilities for 8 to 12 hours: 1,000 for more than 12 hours, and 134 for more than a day. Lone adult asylum seekers are held for longer than other detainees, as Border Force gives priority to unaccompanied children and families.
The report found the short-term holding facility at London City Airport is ‘excessively cramped’, with an ‘oppressively small’ rooms.
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