A scandal ridden UK migrant centre has been slammed in a new report for having “too many violent incidents”. Inspectors found that violence levels were still high in their visit to Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons returned to Brook House after a report released in November found fights, assaults and self harm had increased there. Undercover filming also found that “dangerous restraint techniques were used” and those in the centre were “subject to pain and humiliation”. During their latest visit, HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that a large amount of detainees were staying at the centre for well over a year, with the longest length of stay being a whopping 550 days.
Meanwhile, 67% were held for over two months. Brook House, which is run by Serco on behalf of the Home Office, held 192 detainees at the time of the latest review visit, compared to 327 during the last full inspection by HMI Prisons in August 2024.
Neil Beer from the Indpendent Monitoring Board told the BBC: “It is a pressure cooker environment, mainly with many men detained who clearly wish not to be detained, clearly.
“In very close contact with a number of nationalites, not all of whom understand each other or get on with each other.”
This new inspection, which took place between July 29 and 31, found that although detainees were positive about the way they were treated by staff and there had been good investment in the prison environment, there were still “too many” violent incidents.
Inspectors noted that violence levels were still high, but they had stabilised and they could not smell drugs.
Staff had found drugs were being thrown over an external fence into one of the courtyards. Therefore, it was checked before detainees used it and was closed during the hours of darkness.
Poor case progression was also found to be an issue. One detainee reportedly waited five months for a decision on his asylum claim.
It also found that vulnerable individuals are not being looked after effectively, with the Home Office “not always identifying or sufficiently exploring vulnerability before deciding to detain individuals”.
The Home Office said it continued to take all action necessary to improve conditions and safeguards at immigration detention facilities.
Serco called Brook House a “safe place to work and live”, adding: “We have a great team who carry out a challenging role with professionalism and who have good relations with the residents at the centre.”
Brook House was hit by scandal when an undercover BBC Panorama team obtained footage of violence against and abuse of vulnerable detainees in 2017.
The revelations prompted an inquiry, which concluded in September 2024, and found that there was a “toxic culture” at the immigration site.