Man charged with murder after assault at London immigration centre

Tarek Chowdhury, 64, was taken to hospital after the incident but later died

Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in Harmondsworth, West Drayton, Hillingdon (PA)

A man has been charged with murder following an assault at an immigration centre in greater London.

Police were called to the incident at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in Harmondsworth in the west London borough of Hillingdon at 9.15am on Thursday.

The 64-year-old victim Tarek Chowdhury was taken to hospital but died at 9:30pm, Metropolitan Police said.

A 31-year-old man was charged on Friday following the incident.

The suspect, who was in the care of the centre, will appear in custody at Hendon Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

He was one of three men, aged 31, 32 and 35, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after an investigation by detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command was opened up following the incident.

The other two men were released without charge.

Colnbrook, which is located nearby Heathrow Airport and managed by Home Office subcontractors Mitie Care and Custody, opened in September 2004 and has a capacity of 408.

It is a centre for men but includes a Short Term Holding Centre, where both women and men are held usually for a few days, according to Detention Action. It also contains a unit for women, which has a capacity of 20.

A Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons inspection of Colnbrook in 2013 found significant concerns with the centre.

It said there was “widespread, anxiety” among detainees “about issues ranging from the behaviour of other detainees to the availability of drugs”.

The report also described some areas of centres as “cramped and dirty”.

“Some areas, particularly on upper floors and on stairs, were caked-in dirt,” it said. “Rooms were poorly ventilated and many were also dirty. Some toilets were filthy.”

Additional reporting by PA