'Inhumane' conditions at migrant centre, report finds

A report says a Sussex immigration removal centre is a "relatively volatile" environment where men feel unsafe.

Representatives of the Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre independent monitoring board (IMB) said that, despite improvements, some people at Brook House and Tinsley House were having their dignity and rights undermined, including being locked up for 12 hours a day.

The report, released today, also found a "disturbingly high" number of children are being detained at the centre, which was subject to a public inquiry in 2017.

A Home Office spokesperson said it welcomed the IMB's feedback, and is setting up an independent immigration appeals authority which it says will speed up claims.

In the report, which covers the state of the site in 2025, men detained at the immigration removal centre reported feeling unsafe.

Issues with "inadequate" safeguards have been compounded by the government's "one in, one out" agreement with France.

It said: "In the Board's view, the apparently indiscriminate selection process for removing people arriving on small boats to France has put men at risk.

"Vulnerable individuals, including a significant number of children and victims of torture, have been detained who should not have been."

About 4% of migrants arriving in Dover on small boats are being sent back under the scheme, figures released in August show.

The IMB said that "dehumanising language" was used towards detained men, including referring to them as "cases", and added that it considered the length of time that men are locked in their rooms to be "inhumane".

It added that it found detainees were handcuffed in 97% of cases where they needed to be escorted to medical appointments, which it said was "stigmatising and lacking in dignity".

This follows an investigation showing that self-harm, cases of violence and use of restraint rose at the West Sussex centre in 2024.

A BBC Panorama investigation in 2017 uncovered abuse and bullying inside the centre, prompting a public inquiry which found a toxic culture.

There was a "considerable reduction" in the number of serious incidents at the site in 2025 compared to 2024, including where specially trained riot squads were called in, the report also found, and fewer concerns were raised by men about their personal safety.

The report added that detention of men under the one in one out scheme, which was introduced in August 2025, "has exacerbated some issues", and that this "could, and should, have been anticipated and avoided".

The IMB recommended that a time limit be set on immigration detention - a recommendation that it has made in each of its annual reports since 2018.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority will ensure claims are heard quickly and fairly, so those here illegally can be swiftly removed.

"This report does not impede the establishment of the authority, which we believe is fully compatible with our commitments under the withdrawal agreement.

"We welcome the IMB's feedback and will continue to engage with them throughout this process."

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