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| Home Office figures show migrants detained for more than two years at a time | Home Office figures show migrants detained for more than two years at a time |
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| Migrants are being held in detention for years on end, despite not facing any charges, in what campaigners are comparing to the plight of Britons imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. | Migrants are being held in detention for years on end, despite not facing any charges, in what campaigners are comparing to the plight of Britons imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. |
| New figures released by the Home Office reveal how one man has been detained for 1,701 days – almost five years - topping a list of the 20 longest recorded lengths of detention, all of which are at least two years. | New figures released by the Home Office reveal how one man has been detained for 1,701 days – almost five years - topping a list of the 20 longest recorded lengths of detention, all of which are at least two years. |
| Four people have been held for more than three years – longer than some of the high-profile Britons, such as Moazzam Begg, who were locked up by the US in Guantanamo Bay. | Four people have been held for more than three years – longer than some of the high-profile Britons, such as Moazzam Begg, who were locked up by the US in Guantanamo Bay. |
| In total, the 20 people have spent more than 53 years in detention between them. | In total, the 20 people have spent more than 53 years in detention between them. |
| Yarl’s Wood near Bedford, where many are held solely under immigration powers (Getty) | |
| The details of the cases, released today, are part of a wider issue, with a record number of 3,378 people detained “solely under Immigration Act powers” in immigration removal centres such as Yarl’s Wood, which has faced repeated allegations of sexual misconduct by staff against prisoners and pregnant women held without justification. And detainees are also kept in “short-term holding facilities” and “pre-departure accommodation.” | The details of the cases, released today, are part of a wider issue, with a record number of 3,378 people detained “solely under Immigration Act powers” in immigration removal centres such as Yarl’s Wood, which has faced repeated allegations of sexual misconduct by staff against prisoners and pregnant women held without justification. And detainees are also kept in “short-term holding facilities” and “pre-departure accommodation.” |
| The figures “exclude people detained under both criminal and immigration powers”, according to the Home Office document, which is a snapshot of the situation in September 2014. | The figures “exclude people detained under both criminal and immigration powers”, according to the Home Office document, which is a snapshot of the situation in September 2014. |
| Most of those in detention are asylum seekers, while others may be those whose visas may have run out, or people who lived in Britain with indefinite leave to remain until being given a deportation order, say campaigners. And some will be in detention because they are ex-offenders and considered a ‘flight risk’ by government officials. | Most of those in detention are asylum seekers, while others may be those whose visas may have run out, or people who lived in Britain with indefinite leave to remain until being given a deportation order, say campaigners. And some will be in detention because they are ex-offenders and considered a ‘flight risk’ by government officials. |
| Jerome Phelps, director of Detention Action, told The Independent: “These are shocking figures. The US has been widely condemned for detention without trial in Guantanamo, yet the UK stands revealed as locking up migrants for comparable periods in immigration detention centres. These people are detained for deportation, but it stretches credibility to believe that it can take more than four and a half years to deport someone.” | Jerome Phelps, director of Detention Action, told The Independent: “These are shocking figures. The US has been widely condemned for detention without trial in Guantanamo, yet the UK stands revealed as locking up migrants for comparable periods in immigration detention centres. These people are detained for deportation, but it stretches credibility to believe that it can take more than four and a half years to deport someone.” |
| Successful claims against the government for unlawful detention cost the Home Office several millions pounds a year in compensation, with more than £16m paid out in the past four years. | Successful claims against the government for unlawful detention cost the Home Office several millions pounds a year in compensation, with more than £16m paid out in the past four years. |
| More than 60 per cent of migrants who are detained for more than a year are ultimately released, not deported, according to Mr Phelps. | More than 60 per cent of migrants who are detained for more than a year are ultimately released, not deported, according to Mr Phelps. |
| “The Home Office is simply warehousing unwanted migrants, at vast public expense, causing incalculable damage to their mental health,” he added. | “The Home Office is simply warehousing unwanted migrants, at vast public expense, causing incalculable damage to their mental health,” he added. |
| Commenting on the new statistics, Don Flynn, director of Migrants’ Rights Network, said: “It is important to bear in mind that these 20 people who have spent between two and nearly five years in detention have not been convicted of any criminal offence. They have been deprived of their liberty for the administrative convenience of the Home Office.” | Commenting on the new statistics, Don Flynn, director of Migrants’ Rights Network, said: “It is important to bear in mind that these 20 people who have spent between two and nearly five years in detention have not been convicted of any criminal offence. They have been deprived of their liberty for the administrative convenience of the Home Office.” |
| The problem is wider than even official statistics suggest, with around 20,000 people being put in detention at some point every year, claim campaigners. | The problem is wider than even official statistics suggest, with around 20,000 people being put in detention at some point every year, claim campaigners. |
| Amid mounting concern over the conditions endured by people detained by the Home Office, Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather is chairing a cross-party inquiry into immigration detention which will produce its report next month. In a statement, she said: “There can be no justification for locking people up for years and years for no other reason than administrative convenience. Britain is alone in the EU in not having a time-limit on how long people can be held in immigration detention and these figures show that this allows officials in the Home Office to deprive people of their liberty for years at a time.” | Amid mounting concern over the conditions endured by people detained by the Home Office, Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather is chairing a cross-party inquiry into immigration detention which will produce its report next month. In a statement, she said: “There can be no justification for locking people up for years and years for no other reason than administrative convenience. Britain is alone in the EU in not having a time-limit on how long people can be held in immigration detention and these figures show that this allows officials in the Home Office to deprive people of their liberty for years at a time.” |
| Ms Teather added: “The evidence that the parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention that I am currently chairing has heard has highlighted the immense human cost of this policy. Not knowing if you are going to be released, deported back to a country where you fear you will be tortured, or if you will languish in detention, locked away from friends and family, for months and years to come leaves people in a state of insecurity that effects both mental and physical health.” | Ms Teather added: “The evidence that the parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention that I am currently chairing has heard has highlighted the immense human cost of this policy. Not knowing if you are going to be released, deported back to a country where you fear you will be tortured, or if you will languish in detention, locked away from friends and family, for months and years to come leaves people in a state of insecurity that effects both mental and physical health.” |
| Moazzam Begg was held in detention in Guantanamo Bay between 2002-5 (PA) | Moazzam Begg was held in detention in Guantanamo Bay between 2002-5 (PA) |
| One former detainee, Abdal, from Sudan, said: “I was detained for three and a half years. It was worse than the physical torture I experienced in my country, because with the physical torture you get a break between beatings. You never know when the psychological pain of detention will end.” | One former detainee, Abdal, from Sudan, said: “I was detained for three and a half years. It was worse than the physical torture I experienced in my country, because with the physical torture you get a break between beatings. You never know when the psychological pain of detention will end.” |
| The 31-year-old, who lives in Middlesborough and is waiting for compensation after winning a High Court case for unlawful detention, added: “I now suffer panic attacks and flashbacks, and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. These are the consequences of long-term detention. Detention has never served a purpose, what is the point of ruining people’s lives?” | The 31-year-old, who lives in Middlesborough and is waiting for compensation after winning a High Court case for unlawful detention, added: “I now suffer panic attacks and flashbacks, and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. These are the consequences of long-term detention. Detention has never served a purpose, what is the point of ruining people’s lives?” |
| Yvette Cooper, the shadow Home Secretary, said: “It is disgraceful that some people are being detained in immigration removal centres for over four years. No visa or asylum application process should take that long. People should either be granted leave to stay in the country or, if they don’t have a right to be here, they should be deported. Such long detention periods benefit nobody – it is traumatic for those being detained, it is incredibly expensive and it undermines confidence in our immigration system." | Yvette Cooper, the shadow Home Secretary, said: “It is disgraceful that some people are being detained in immigration removal centres for over four years. No visa or asylum application process should take that long. People should either be granted leave to stay in the country or, if they don’t have a right to be here, they should be deported. Such long detention periods benefit nobody – it is traumatic for those being detained, it is incredibly expensive and it undermines confidence in our immigration system." |
| A Home Office spokesperson said: “Those with no right to be in the UK should return home. We will help those who wish to leave voluntarily but will enforce the removal of those who refuse. | A Home Office spokesperson said: “Those with no right to be in the UK should return home. We will help those who wish to leave voluntarily but will enforce the removal of those who refuse. |
| “All detention is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it only lasts as long as it continues to be justified and necessary. However, we have a duty to protect the public from those who pose a risk of harm and in particular those who have committed serious criminal offences.” | “All detention is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it only lasts as long as it continues to be justified and necessary. However, we have a duty to protect the public from those who pose a risk of harm and in particular those who have committed serious criminal offences.” |