A North East MP has called for a public inquiry into historic abuse at a former youth detention centre and an immediate stop to women suffering on the same site.
Kate Osborne, who represents Jarrow, visited Derwentside Women’s Immigration Removal Centre with members of the Women and Equalities Select Committee on Monday. The site, located near Consett, in County Durham, was previously Medomsley Detention Centre.
The Labour MP described the conditions as a "disgrace" and said women are being denied human rights. She has written an urgent letter to the Home Office and has called for the centre to be shut down.
Read more: Fresh calls for public inquiry into Medomsley Detention Centre abuse
Ms Osborne has also backed calls for a public inquiry into the historic abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.
More than 1,800 men reported that they were either physically or sexually abused while being held at Medomsley, during the 1970s and 1980s. They came forward after Durham Police launched an investigation into historical crimes at the centre in 2013.
Five former employees from Medomsley were convicted in 2019 of misconduct in a public office for their roles in brutal physical and sexual abuse suffered by vulnerable young men and boys there in the 1970s and 1980s.
Campaigners, victims and lawyers have called for a full public inquiry into the abuse. The plea was previously rejected by the Government with ministers arguing that major police investigations have been sufficient to discover what happened at the detention centre.
Following her visit to Derwentside on Monday, Ms Osborne said: "This centre needs to be shut down - it should never have been opened. The fact that this is happening at a site well known for historic abuse is frankly disturbing."
She said the "appalling" conditions which she saw are a "disgrace" and women locked up in the centre are being denied human rights. She said they are isolated and unable to access face-to-face legal advice.
Ms Osborne said: "The majority of those being detained here are innocent of any criminal activity and will be detained for unjust and unnecessary administrative purposes. Some of the women have been trafficked, one woman has been detained here for 200 days - isolated from loved ones.
"There are many reports of women that have been held at gun and knifepoint by traffickers, and in some cases, will have had no choice at all over their destination.
"For those women to then be detained in an IRC under prison-like conditions, is absolutely appalling and inhumane. Instead, the women should be supported and given a place of sanctuary."
The MP said that her visit has left a number of questions for the home office to answer as none of the women living there should be detained in this year.
She said: "Some of the women I spoke to have lives in the UK that are on hold, have worked here and have bank accounts here. Some have lived in the UK since 2015 before being put into this prison. It’s shameful.
"Their claims need to be dealt with and processed. Detention should never be part of someone's asylum or immigration journey - the women need to be supported, not locked up."
Ms Osborne said it is "vital" that the Government commit to a full, independent public inquiry into the historical abuse men faced in this venue decades ago when it was Medomsley Detention Centre.
She added: "I stand firmly with my constituents who suffered this abuse, in their calls for an inquiry.
"It is a disgrace that decades later women are now imprisoned and enduring abuse at the same venue. The Home Office needs to urgently intervene and stop holding the 29 women currently imprisoned in this detention centre."
Read more:
Medomsley Detention Centre abuse compensation scheme reopens
Legal challenge launched against 'traumatising' policy at former Medomsley detention centre
Campaigners gather in Consett to oppose newly opened women's only immigration detention centre
Protesters hold up work at former Medomsley site set to open as immigration 'prison'
Immigration 'prison' would 'continue cycle of abuse' on Medomsley site, protesters insist
