According to a report from the Prison Inspectorate, families with young children had to spend more than 24 hours in tents near Dover.
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Migrants remain detained in “very bad conditions” after their arrival in the United Kingdom despite promises of improvement from the Home Office, notes a report, published Thursday, December 16, when illegal crossings through the Channel hit records.
The Prisons Inspectorate as well as the Dover and Heathrow Independent Oversight Boards (IMBs), made up of volunteers tasked by the government to assess detention conditions, have visited several centers in the past three months.
Despite the assurances received following previous inspections in 2020, only “limited progress” were found, said Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor. “Those detained, including a large number of unaccompanied minors, continued [en 2021] to endure very bad conditions. “
The report notes that families with young children had to spend more than 24 hours in tents near Dover, the first cross-Channel port. Women claiming to have been raped by smugglers have not been “not sufficiently supported”.
It also reports to“important” concerns regarding the safety of unaccompanied minors who are “regularly retained” with adults with whom they have no connection. IMB national president Anne Owers alerted the Home Office, deeming measures necessary “urgent”.