Serco: The firm given contract despite being dogged by allegations of abuse and maltreatment of immigrants

Outsourcing giant's work across public services in Britain, including justice, health, defence and immigration, has been overshadowed by accusations over treatment of people in its care

Health workers demonstrating in London in 2017 over their pay and treatment by Serco (Rex)

With 50,000 employees in Britain, Serco is a giant in the private contractor sector, but its work across public services in Britain, including justice, health, defence and immigration, has been overshadowed by accusations over treatment of people in its care.

The firm, which has just been awarded £200m contracts to run Brook House and Tinsley House immigration removal centres near Heathrow, already runs Yarl’s Wood, Britain’s only detention centre for women. However, staff there have faced allegations of sexual abuse and have been criticised for paying detainees as little as £1 an hour for working.

As recently as this month, a court heard that a woman on trial for assaulting custody officers had been involved in an altercation with 11 members of Serco staff, during which she claimed she was thrown to the floor “like a bag of cement”.