HOME Office contractors tried to sell illegal drugs to asylum seekers at the Manston processing centre, it has been alleged.
According to The Guardian, security staff at the overcrowded temporary accommodation for migrants in Kent attempted to sell inhabitants cannabis while working at the facility.
It was also revealed that some security guards raised concerns that their colleagues had been smoking the drug while on duty.
In a statement the Home Office said: “The Home Office expects the highest standards of professionalism from all those contracted to manage the detention estate.
“The individuals involved in this incident were swiftly removed from the site and we will continue to take robust action against those whose behaviour falls beneath those high standards.”
It was previously reported that the Home Secretary Suella Braverman was considering upgrading cannabis to a class A drug over fears that it acted as a “gateway” to more harmful substances.
Braverman is currently embroiled in legal action over the conditions of the migrant site at Manston after it was revealed that poor conditions were causing the spread of infectious diseases such as diphtheria and scabies.
The space was originally intended to accommodate around 1600 people for no longer than 24 hours but reports suggest that at one point more than 4000 – including children and pregnant women – were crammed in to the processing centre.
One legal challenge alleges that a woman was left in “egregiously defective conditions” after being held at the site for three weeks.
Around 1200 people have been moved from the site in the past four days as the Home Office scrambles to make it legally compliant.
The Home Secretary visited the site yesterday and vowed to upgrade the medical and catering facilities.
However, Braverman was criticised for flying to the facility from Dover in a Chinook RAF helicopter despite it only being a 30-minute drive.
