Inspector says home secretary halted annual review of ‘adults at risk’ days after he raised concerns
- I warned ministers about our disgraceful UK detention centres. Their solution? Stop the inspections – David Neal
Suella Braverman halted annual inspections of immigration detention centres such as Brook House last year, shortly after ministers received direct warnings that vulnerable people such as torture victims had been left unprotected, the immigration watchdog has disclosed.
In an article for the Guardian, David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration (ICIBI), said the home secretary stopped his annual review of “adults at risk” held in removal centres last September.
The decision came days after Neal specifically warned the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, that protections must be put in place for “vulnerable detainees” and necessary reforms were moving at a “glacial pace”, he wrote.
His comments come as a major inquiry reveals that people detained at Brook House immigration removal centre in 2017 were mistreated in “prison-like” conditions, with staff making dehumanising and racist comments and quick to use force.
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