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Riot at asylum centre 'contained' | Riot at asylum centre 'contained' |
(30 minutes later) | |
About a third of detainees at an immigration centre are being moved to other sites after a riot. | |
Seven staff and two inmates were hurt during the disturbance at Campsfield removal centre near Kidlington, Oxfordshire, early on Wednesday. | |
The Home Office confirmed the situation was "fully contained", and that no one had escaped. "The public were not at risk," a spokesman said. | The Home Office confirmed the situation was "fully contained", and that no one had escaped. "The public were not at risk," a spokesman said. |
One detainee remains in hospital, while the others have all been discharged. | One detainee remains in hospital, while the others have all been discharged. |
Five fire engines and 30 firefighters were called to tackle the incident but police described the blaze as "relatively small". | |
However, a detainee, who did not want to be named, told BBC News 24 that inmates had been fighting, smashing computers and looting shops in the centre. | |
He said the violence started after staff tried to remove an Algerian man from his room. | |
Lin Homer, director general of the Immigration Nationality Directorate (IND), said: "Throughout the day IND, GEO [the American company which runs the centre] and prison staff with the support of the police and fire services have been working to resolve the disturbance at Campsfield House Immigration Detention Centre. | |
"I can now confirm the situation is fully contained and the centre is calm. | |
Plans are underway to move around a third of the detainees from Campsfield House under escort to other parts of the IND detention estate Lin Homer, director general of the Immigration Nationality Directorate | |
"The perimeter of Campsfield remains secure and no-one has escaped. There has been no risk to the public. | |
"Although seven staff and two detainees were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation, I am pleased to say that all members of staff and one detainee have been discharged. | |
"One detainee remains in hospital under observation." | |
He added: "Campsfield holds approximately 200 people. The population comprises a mixture of foreign nationals who served a prison sentence and against whom we are pursuing deportation, and immigration offenders who we are in the process of removing. | |
'Big problems' | |
"Plans are under way to move around a third of the detainees from Campsfield House under escort to other parts of the IND detention estate. | |
"No detainee will be released from anywhere in the IND estate as a result of today's disturbance and we will continue to remove immigration offenders as planned." | |
Earlier, Sarah Cutler from Bail for Immigration Detainees, which provides workshops at Campsfield offering legal advice to detainees, had said she was not surprised by the disturbance. | |
"There are big problems at the moment," she said, adding that many people were being held for months. |