Home Office contractor investigates claims of staff racism and hate speech

Manston detention in Kent, one of the sites where Mitie provides services for the Home Office. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned.

Whistleblowers from the company, Mitie, have alleged that some staff members working in immigration removal centres and deporting migrants have made offensive comments at work and in social media posts.