Serious self-harm incidents surge 2,000% in detention centre holding Channel asylum seekers

Exclusive: Campaigners say Priti Patel’s ‘politically driven’ bid to deport migrants arriving in small boats has led to a dramatic surge in self-harm as trafficking and torture survivors are locked up despite vulnerabilities

New figures reveal there were 80 self-harm incidents requiring medical treatment in Brook House removal centre in August and September of this year, compared with five in the same period in 2019 (PA)

Self-harm incidents have surged twentyfold in a year at a detention centre holding asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel on small boats, with incidents occurring more than daily despite the number of detainees having reduced significantly, The Independent can reveal.

Campaigners have warned of a “crisis of self-harm in immigration detention” after new figures revealed there were 80 incidents requiring medical treatment in Brook House, a removal centre near Gatwick Airport, in August and September of this year, compared with five in the same period in 2019.

This is despite the fact that over the same period, the number of detainees in the facility has reduced to around a third of its normal capacity – from 294 to around 100 – as the Home Office released large numbers of people at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes after a High Court judge ruled that the Home Office was failing to adequately screen asylum seekers to identify whether they are victims of trafficking before placing them in detention, in a potential breach of the law.

The data, obtained through a freedom of information request by campaign group No Deportations, also reveals there were 161 hunger strikes recorded in Brook House in August and September, compared to just nine during the same period in 2019.

While the facility previously held people with a range of immigration backgrounds, since March it has been used mainly to detain asylum seekers who arrived on small boats, as part of Priti Patel’s pledge to make crossings “unviable” by deporting migrants soon after they arrive.

Charities and lawyers said the “dramatic surge” in self-harm incidents and meal refusals was largely the result of the Home Office prioritising speedy removals over their responsibility to ensure they do not detain vulnerable people who have experienced trafficking or torture.

The home secretary has been warned that her approach has meant people are not getting adequate access to legal advice before removal, nor the opportunity to disclose themselves as victims of trafficking or torture before they are detained.

A man who spent 18 days in Brook House in September told The Independent people around him in the facility were “losing their minds”, with self-harm occurring around him on a routine basis.

“The situation is really bad in there. Many of the detainees try to harm themselves. The mood is really bad. People spend the whole day thinking,” said the man, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“One guy on my wing made some cuts on his chest. He told me he didn’t want to go back to Spain because he had spent six months there on the streets, stealing from rubbish bins, and no one cared about him.

“He didn’t want to go back to that situation. He said it’s better for me to die here than go back there. He had never tried to harm himself before.”

The asylum seeker, who had been facing removal to Germany – where he was told he wouldn’t be granted asylum – but was released from detention after a lawyer intervened, said there were around a dozen detainees on hunger strike at any given time.

“Many people are not eating in protest to try make people notice their situation. But the staff don’t try to speak to them or try to take them a meal. They say if you don’t want it, you don’t want it. That’s up to you,” he said.

“We are not criminals. Everyone in there has their own story of trauma. We don’t want to leave our countries, but once we arrive they put us in a jail,” he added.

“We came to Europe because we heard it’s a place of humanity, of human rights. We just need protection because our countries aren’t safe. It’s really unbelievable that we are being treated like this.”

A High Court judge ruled on Friday that the Home Office was likely to be acting unlawfully in its decision at the start of the pandemic to curtail asylum screening interviews by asking a narrower set of questions than those that are identified in the published policy guidance.

The Home Office’s decision has meant asylum seekers are no longer asked about their journeys to the UK, meaning experiences of trafficking may not be documented before someone is detained.

Mr Justice Fordham said this posed a “serious risk of injustice and irreversible harm” and ordered as an interim measure that from Monday all asylum seekers are asked to outline their journeys to the UK, with a full hearing due to take place in December.

Bella Sankey, director at Detention Action, said: “Our immigration detention centres are filled with survivors of war, torture and human trafficking. Evidence shows our system frequently pushes people to the point of self-harm and attempted suicide.

“But to see such a dramatic surge in incidents occurred in the run up to a politically-driven escalation of deportations raises serious safety concerns that Priti Patel must now answer.”

Celia Clarke, director at Bail for Immigration Detainees, said the “shocking” figures exposed a “crisis of self-harm in immigration detention” which ought to “shame the UK government”.

She added: “People seeking safety arriving at the shores of the UK are met with unrelenting hostility from ministers, journalists and far-right vigilantes, before being locked up in detention centres and threatened with deportation.

“Many have undergone severe trauma not only in their home countries but during life-threatening journeys. It is no wonder that so many find it too much to cope. No humane government would continue to operate a detention system that drives people to such desperate measures on such a horrifying scale.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The welfare of detained individuals is of the utmost importance and we take any incidence of self-harm seriously. Everyone on arrival has a vulnerability assessment and access to legal representatives and 24-hour healthcare.

“If there are concerns that an individual may self-harm or if there are wider mental or physical health concerns, a tailored support package is put in place which can include round the clock observation.

“The public rightly expect us to maintain a firm and fair immigration system, which immigration detention plays a crucial role in.”

A spokesperson for Serco, the private firm contracted by the Home Office to manage Brook House, said: “Anybody refusing food is monitored by the Serco and health care teams following the Home Office’s procedures for residents refusing food or fluids. We always offer meals and monitor the wellbeing of residents, and encourage them to take food.”

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.