Inspectors from the UK’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), a prisons watchdog, have labelled a female migrant detention centre in England “inhumane” and cited an inadequate Wi-Fi system among other criticisms.
“Added to the difficulty with the physical location is the unreliable mobile phone reception,” the report said.
The findings have raised eyebrows, with some saying the centre is anything but inhumane. Asked about the IMB report, Conservative MP Peter Bone said it was “ridiculous to suggest that we should be guaranteeing good mobile coverage for people who shouldn’t even be here”.
Despite the Derwentside facility in the Northern English region of County Durham only recently being opened and, according to the UK newspaper the Daily Mail located in “picturesque countryside”, the annual IMB was harshly critical in its report. Among its findings, it refers to the “inhumane treatment of the detained women”.
But rather than gulag-style defaults or torture, observers say the criticisms are based on the fact that the centre is a rather long drive from the prosperous South East, does not have its own hair salon, there are only two visits per week by a private GP and it uses a Wi-Fi connection that isn’t always adequate.
The geographical location of the centre, which is far from the country’s major urban centres, can lead migrants to feel “tired, disorientated or stressed”, the IMB claimed.
For these and other reasons, the inspectors have apparently advised the Ministry of the Interior to “reconsider the appropriateness” of the centre.
However, they concur that the accommodation is of good quality and describe the reception of detainees as “welcoming” and that the staff operate “with kindness and respect”.
There have reportedly been five assaults and other instances of threatening behaviour by the migrant woman towards staff. There are 97 officers at the centre, which has a capacity of 84 detainees, while the number of detained women has not exceeded 50 this year and is now at around 30 to 35. It is said that at one point, there were just 17.
According to the IMB, the food they are given is also problematic: “It is difficult to cater for many tastes and cultures but our consistent observation is that the menu is too heavy and carbohydrate-laden and could do with more variety.”
The agency also wants more effort to be made regarding women who do not understand English. “All staff should be encouraged to use translation software on electronic tablets,” it said. One obstacle it pointed to was “that the Wi-Fi signal in one of the residential units is not adequate to support the functioning of these tablets”.
Another criticism was that a doctor supplied by private healthcare company Spectrum visits only twice a week. That is despite nursing staff being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The IMB also slated the fact that a hair salon and shop was not yet operating at the facility, which cost £18.7 million to build and which opened in November 2021.
The centre is run by private firm Mitie on behalf of the Home Office at a cost of £100,000 a year for each detainee.
A Home Office source told the Daily Mail: “This is a modern, comfortable facility for housing individuals who should not be in this country and are awaiting deportation. The strength of the mobile signal and the quality of the internet are not high priorities.”
"Am I missing something or are we in Alice in Wonderland?"
Kevin O’Sullivan reacts as women-only Derwentside immigration removal centre has reportedly been branded ‘inhumane’ over 'poor mobile signal and for not yet opening a hair salon'.@TVKev | @Iromg | #TalkTV pic.twitter.com/f3fsgLkTM0
— Talk (@TalkTV) July 11, 2023
