A catalogue of maintenance failures over more than a decade caused power cuts that triggered disturbances at Europe’s largest immigration detention centre last year, the Guardian has learned.
The disturbances at Harmondsworth, the 676-bed centre near Heathrow, led to elite prison squads and the Metropolitan police being called to the scene to quell the protest. As a result of the power failure the centre had to be closed for several weeks and detainees relocated to other detention centres and prisons around the UK.
Freedom of information responses obtained by the charity Medical Justice and passed to the Guardian reveal the damning findings of internal investigations into what went wrong and found that “a lack of preventative routine maintenance” caused “multiple power failures”.
When asked about the failures identified in the internal reports Home Office sources said they were unable to comment on details as a full review is under way. However, a Home Office spokesperson condemned the large number of small boat arrivals at the time of the incident.
Detainees affected by the power cuts, which happened over the first weekend in November last year, described frightening conditions without light, heat or running water putting toilets out of use, with some unable to access their medication.
The protest involved detainees on one wing who reportedly refused to be locked in their cells because of the bad conditions caused by the power outages.
Findings of the Home Office’s internal investigation into what went wrong reveal:
No evidence of maintenance of air circuit breakers since installation and one had been tripping multiple times since June 2022
Some equipment still at risk of failure because it is obsolete and no longer manufactured
Switching strategy on some equipment not operational since 2008/9
Excessive heat buildup in the electrical switch room
One report dated September 2022 found there had been a “disappointing approach” to maintenance at the centre and warned that if, “as soon as possible”, repair works are not carried out “the establishment will remain at risk”.
A second report marked private and confidential dated November 2022 called for the shortcomings in the maintenance system to be “urgently addressed”.
At the time of the power cuts and disturbances some detainees spoke to the Guardian by phone.
One said: “We continue to live in Harmondsworth in conditions which are not humane. People are running out of credit on their phones and can’t contact their families. We haven’t been out of our cells for three days. They come to our cells to bring food to us and leave it on the floor as if we’re dogs.”
Another said: “The cell emergency bells are not working so if someone dies behind a cell door nobody will know. The system has failed us. I feel like a hostage rather than a detainee.”
Emma Ginn, the director of Medical Justice, said: “Our clients, who include torture survivors, reported that they were locked in their cells without lighting or heating. Some told us that they did not have access to their medication, which could worsen their serious medical conditions and risk permanent deterioration. These inhuman conditions were avoidable and smack of putting profit before safety.”
The Home Office said: “In autumn we faced an unprecedented number of people arriving by small boat, which put huge pressure on our whole accommodation system. Following a power cut at Harmondsworth on 4 November, we saw unacceptable levels of violence and disorder. Home Office staff, contractors and officers from HMPPS and the Metropolitan police worked tirelessly and professionally throughout the night to control the situation and ensure the safe evacuation of everyone staying there.”
