CPT makes 'rapid reaction visit' to Manston, Western Jet Foil and the Kent Intake Unit in Dover
Concern over the situation at the Manston short-term holding facility for asylum seekers in Kent has reached the level of prompting a rapid reaction visit by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).
Members of the Council of Europe's CPT made a 4-day visit to the UK from 25 to 28 November 2022 to examine the treatment of asylum seekers and migrants arriving by small boat. The CPT visited Manston, Western Jet Foil and the Kent Intake Unit in Dover. Preliminary observations were presented to immigration minister Robert Jenrick following the visit, but have so far not been made public (though ITV News has published details of the CPT's findings - see below).
On Tuesday of last week, Detention Action, Duncan Lewis Solicitors, Matrix Chambers and Doughty Street Chambers announced that all those who had been held at Manston had been moved to new accommodation following the threat of legal action.
Matrix said: "On 1st November 2022, an urgent, pre-action letter was sent to the Home Secretary on behalf of the woman then held at Manston and Detention Action explaining in detail why in their view the duration of detention, lack of access to legal advice and conditions at the site were unlawful. … The Home Secretary ultimately responded with confirmation that the Manston Facility was being emptied. No announcement has yet been made as to whether the site will now be permanently closed."
The site has, however, since returned to usage. The Guardian reported yesterday that the site was thought to be operational again following a deep clean carried out last week. New flooring was installed in marquees and additional mattresses were brought to the site.
ITV News yesterday published details of the CPT's findings of current conditions at Manston as follows:
- After arrival at Manston, detainees were searched for a third time, which was excessive, although the searches undertaken by Mitie Care and Custody staff were conducted in private and with sensitivity.
- Induction interviews were held in a noisy area where staff and detainees struggled to communicate with each other.
- Detainees with identified vulnerability were usually not sent to Manston, but a small number were processed there during the inspection period due to traffic disruption at Dover.
- Manston was determined to be a "well-ordered and calm environment where staff provided a high level of supervision".
- Recorded violence, non-compliance and self-harm were all rare.
- The delegates saw exhausted detainees held for more than 30 hours become very frustrated at the time it was taking to be transferred to a place where they could sleep properly.
- The longest time of detention at Manston was more than 70 hours, which was unacceptable for a non-residential facility.
Last week, the anti-racism charity the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) published an in-depth piece here by Joseph Maggs on a visit to Manston carried out on 30 October. Maggs is the coordinator of SOAS Detainee Support, which campaigns against detention and deportations.
Maggs wrote: "With notable exceptions, journalists had neglected their duties at Manston – few, it seemed, had actually bothered to visit the site. So we decided to investigate ourselves, aiming above all to make contact and show solidarity with people inside, whose voices were nowhere to be found in media coverage. … On our arrival at one of the camp's barbed wire perimeter fences, dozens of young children ran towards us with cries of 'freedom' and 'we need your help'. Through a megaphone we asked questions to a large crowd in the distance who were kept back by private security: they shouted to us that they were from all over – Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Pakistan; that conditions were poor and some of them were sick; and that some had been there for up to 40 days."
He continued: "Manston is the kind of no-access border zone where a culture of violence, abuse and neglect can thrive with impunity. Untrained and unvetted staff have authority over vulnerable people and children who are identified not by names but by wristband numbers … It is a safeguarding vacuum. Child asylum seekers have alleged that screening officials told them they could leave the site quicker if they said they were adults."
Also last week, the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) released a letter sent on 16 November to Parliament's Home Affairs Committee with observations made during monitoring visits to Manston carried out throughout October and November.
The letter, available here, states: "The Board has observed the deterioration of conditions for those detained at Manston. Those detained stay in marquees, temporary tent-like structures that are not suitable for housing large numbers of individuals, especially for periods beyond 24-hours. The provisions within these marquees have been basic. Whilst some have been given mattresses, the IMB observed many individuals who only had a flattened cardboard box to lie on; some simply had a blanket. In these marquees, people have been sleeping in crowded conditions with no privacy between individuals who do not know each other. This raises safeguarding issues, as well as issues of humane treatment. The IMB has observed blankets being used to fill the gaps between the joins of the tent to try and gain some greater protection and keep the wind and rain out. During one visit, a set of portaloos had overflowed and, due to torrential rain, seeped under the wooden flooring of one of the marquees.
"There have not been enough towels, wash kits or clean clothes, and children have been observed in inadequate clothing. The lack of such items has increased feelings of desperation and blankets have reportedly been stolen. We are aware this has led to disputes.
"The IMB has observed the efforts of on-site staff to clean up and keep the marquees tidy, but due to the sheer number of those held, the Board described the state of the site as squalid. The cleanliness of the facility, overcrowding, close contact and sharing of blankets also raises serious concerns for the risk of cross contamination of diseases."
One man who had been held at Manston died in hospital on 19 November, BBC News reported.
On Saturday, a Government spokesperson was quoted by the Guardian as saying: "Initial test results processed by a local hospital for an infectious disease were negative, but a follow-up PCR test was positive, indicating that diphtheria may be the cause of the illness. The coroner will conclude in due course. We take the safety and welfare of those in our care extremely seriously and are taking all of the necessary steps following these results. We are offering diphtheria vaccinations to people at Manston, which has 24/7 health facilities and trained medical staff."
Dozens of charities led by the Refugee Council this week called for an independent Windrush-style public inquiry into the "serious failings" at Manston. In a letter to the Guardian, the charities said the treatment of men, women and children held at Manston was "appalling".