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The report which could destroy Britain’s immigration prisons

The former prisons Ombudsman Stephen Shaw has urged ministers to reduce immigration detention “boldly and without delay”.

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Entrance to healthcare, The Verne Immigration Removal Centre (HMIP)

The Home Office never wanted this report. It was only after a string of stories about abusive guards and sexual attacks that Stephen Shaw’s inquiry into Britain’s immigration detention centres was even commissioned.

Even then, they tried to narrow its remit. It was limited to assessing detainees’ welfare and there was to be no discussion about the principle of detention itself.