Illegal immigrants to be freed after detention centre wrecked in riot

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More than 150 illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers will be freed from custody after a riot wrecked Britain's biggest detention centre.

John Reid was forced to release the men back on to the streets after a wave of blazes and destruction lasting for more than 18 hours at Harmondsworth, in west London.

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The farce was blamed on Labour's failure to provide enough cells for the huge number of illegal immigrants and foreign criminals waiting to be deported from the UK.

The rioting, still not under full control late yesterday evening and sparked by guards turning off a television set, left large parts of the £70m centre out of action.

But - because prisons and other detention centres across the country are already full - the Home Secretary had nowhere to move the failed asylum seekers and overseas criminals being detained at Harmondsworth.

It forced him to order a clear out of 150 illegal immigrants - all of them awaiting removal from the UK - from other detention centres in London and the South East to make way for them.

They were 'bailed' and told to report regularly to the authorities - despite fears they will simply abscond. They are effectively being rewarded for the rioting of their fellow illegal immigrants, albeit indirectly.

In a second twist, it emerged immigration staff have been told not to detain any new suspected illegals or failed asylum seekers for the next 48-hours. Officials say it would be pointless as there is nowhere to put them.

Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green said: 'This outbreak is a symptom of a system out of control.'

Lin Homer, head of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, described the riots - which have already caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage - as a 'deliberate attempts at sabotage' by illegals hell-bent on remaining in the UK.

They began shortly after midnight when a series of fires were started by a hardcore of trouble-causing detainees, including Jamaican Yardies. Insiders said they went wild after a guard switched of a television news bulletin detailing a report, by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, which was critical of the regime at the 500-bed centre.

Sprinklers doused the flames, but left corridors flooded by water. Detainees then went on a wrecking spree as more than 100 prison officers and police were drafted in to try and regain control.

Furniture, TV sets and computers were destroyed, and wash basins and urinals were also ripped out. The worst of the rioting was in B and C wings where a shop and administration office were trashed.

Many detainees were taken out of the buildings into the courtyard, but immediately saw it as an opportunity to mock the authorities. Around 50 were spotted huddled in blankets on the concrete, using blankets to spell out 'help' and 'SOS' on the ground so they could be spotted by TV news helicopters.

As staff and police were involved in an ugly stand-off with those still inside, at least 11 prison security vans - capable of holding around 100 people - were lined up outside the main entrance ready to evacuate detainees.

One of the drivers said: 'The place is completely uninhabitable, they have trashed everything, so there's no way any of them can stay there.'

Dozens of police officers armed with batons, some with dogs, entered the facility, but were still not back in control last night. Half a dozen officers stood guard at main entrance and others patrolled the 15ft razor wire-topped perimeter fence to prevent a repeat of the escapes which took place in a similar riot at Yarl's Wood detention centre in 2002.

In a statement, Mrs Homer said: 'The situation at Harmondsworth remains contained. The perimeter remains secure, and no-one has escaped. There has been no risk to the public. No injuries to staff or detainees have been reported.

'Harmondsworth holds approximately 500 people. One third are foreign nationals who have been in prison whom we are in the process of deporting. Two thirds are immigration offenders whom we are in the process of removing. This appears to have been a deliberate attempt at sabotage in order to frustrate these processes.

'Detainees from Harmondsworth are either remaining there or being escorted elsewhere in the IND and Prison Service secure estates. It will prove necessary to bail about 150 immigration offenders from elsewhere in the estate on to reporting restrictions, in order to manage these movements. These are people who have been detained in order to better enforce their removal.

'Removal will still be pursued vigorously in all cases. We will prioritise the cases according to risk. No foreign national prisoners will be released.'

Critics questioned whether the removals would now happen, as those freed have no incentive to remain in contact with the authorities - but every reason to disappear. This at leaves gives them a chance of avoiding removal.

The timing of the riot could not have been worse for Mr Reid, coming on the day the prison population officially reached 80,000 for the first time. There is no room in the country's jails, and 152 convicts are being held in police cells under Operation Safeguard.

Immigration detention centres, which have around 2,500 places, are also full. Beds are being taken by overseas convicts, who have been moved from prison after completing their sentences.

In the past, many would have been set free - but are now held until the date of their removal following this summer's foreign prisoner early release scandal.

It left Mr Reid's hands completely tied. Even police cells - which can be used by the immigration service in emergencies - are full. Last night, Prison Officers' Association general secretary Brian Caton warned of dire consequences of the Harmondsworth riots.

He said: 'It is causing severe shortfalls of staff across the Prison Service in England and Wales and may well have a knock on effect to the operation of the public sector prison service. The riot is as a result of impoverished regimes, inadequate staffing levels and dangerous conditions.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Nick Clegg said: 'These are not the first disturbances at Harmondsworth. Why have lessons not been learnt?'

Mr Green added: 'This is yet another example of John Reid's mismanagement of the immigration system and yet again it is the public who are paying the price of the consequences of this failure.'

It is the second time Harmondsworth has been rocked by riots. In 2004, 17 arrests when detainees went on the rampage following the suicide of a 31-year-old man being held there. It has a crucial strategic importance to the Home Office, because it is so close to Heathrow Airport.

 

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