Government Must Act to Change Conditions and Policy on Detention

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 10th Aug 2007

Commenting on the escape of 26 prisoners from Campsfield house immigration detention centre, Dr Evan Harris, Lib Dem MP whose constituency includes Campsfield House said,

"This is the latest in a series of disturbances at Campsfield House and the second major incident that has occurred since the mixing of foreign national ex-prisoners with immigration detainees (including failed asylum seekers) and since a change of management to another private company following a bid process".

"The Home Office report into the fire and disturbance at Campsfield House in March 2007 was only published last last week and it will have been too early to implement all its recommendations. But it had strong things to say about the way the centre is managed - with low staff morale, high staff turnover, and criticisms of the way the centre was run. It was also critical of the Home Office's own casework department - with long delays resulting in lengthy detention of detainees without adequate information."

"Only this week there was a hunger strike by most of the in-mates calling for better treatment by the authorities"

"It is not surprising that seemingly indefinite detention without charge or without conviction leads to frustration, misery and potential unrest"

"It is now clear that the Government will need to set out clearly how it is going implement the necessary changes demanded by its own review and by successive reports from the HM Inspector of Prisons".

"It is disturbances rather than escapes that have been the main feature of Campsfield House's troubled past and local people will be concerned that detainees have escaped from what is supposed to be a secure establishment. There will have to be enquiry into how this happened and whether private companies with one eye on the profit margin are capable of running sensitive and difficult establishments like this."