wereCharlie Taylor, the chief prison inspector, was so alarmed by what he discovered on the February visit that he wrote to James Cleverly, the home secretary at the time, but he never heard back.
The “chaos” at the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Center, involving drug use and violence, was “truly shocking” to witness during the visit.
Additionally, there had been multiple attempts at suicide by inmates, one of which resulted in “serious injuries to the detainee” during the facility’s examination.
Inspectors discovered that the assistance provided to individuals who reported feeling suicidal was “not good enough.
According to a report written after the visit, more ex-offenders were being housed at Harmondsworth alongside people who had never been convicted of a crime due to a lack of available jail space.
During the last inspection in 2017, there had been a twofold increase in assaults and a “widespread” use of drugs, which is uncommon in immigration removal centers.
The personnel, who mostly stayed in offices with “do not enter” plastered across their doors, rarely confronted the inspectors who could “smell cannabis” or observed detainees smoking openly in common areas.
The center can house about 700 men, and nearly two thirds of those detained there reported feeling unsafe.
