A watchdog has described ‘wretched’ conditions at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, which he warned is already past the point of being unsafe
(Picture: PA Wire)A Conservative MP has said the situation at a migrant centre in Kent is “a breach of humane conditions” following overcrowding concerns.
The immigration minister Robert Jenrick travelled to Dover on Sunday evening to take charge of what he called an “intolerable situation” at the UK’s borders after a migrant centre was firebombed and asylum seekers were moved to an overcrowded facility at Manston.
Mr Jenrick went to the port town after a man threw three petrol bombs at the Western Jet Foil border force centre before killing himself at a petrol station nearby.
Following the attack, 700 migrants were relocated to Manston airport, another processing centre 20 miles away that has suffered from recent outbreaks of diphtheria and scabies.
Mr Jenrick said he had been left “speechless” by the safety problems at the overcrowded site.
Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative backbencher, told Sky News of his frustration at the situation on Monday.
He said that Manston was “working as it was intended” five weeks ago but was “now broken and it’s got to be mended fast”.
Sir Roger called for an end to “dog-whistle” politics and for solutions instead.
It came after an immigration watchdog raised major safety concerns after visiting the site.
David Neal, chief inspector of borders and immigration, told MPs last week that Manston was originally meant to hold between 1,000 and 1,600 people.
Despite this, he said there were 2,800 at the site when he visited on Monday, with more arriving.
The Refugee Council has called for “urgent” action and requested a meeting with ministers to discuss proposals for tackling the problem.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has been blamed for the conditions at Manston after she reportedly refused to allow the transfer of migrants to hotels, leading to overcrowding and disease.
But a Home Office spokesman denied the claims, adding: “The Home Secretary has taken urgent decisions to alleviate issues at Manston and source alternative accommodation. Claims advice was deliberately ignored are completely baseless.
“It is right we look at all available options so decisions can be made based on the latest operational and legal advice.
“The number of people arriving in the UK via small boats has reached record levels, which has put our asylum system under incredible pressure and costs the British taxpayer millions of pounds a day.”
Cabinet minister Michael Gove said the situation at Manston was “deeply concerning”, but he denied the Home Secretary ignored or dismissed legal advice.
“The situation in Manston is not what it should be,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
“Everyone acknowledges that. We have more than 2,000 people there at the moment.”
The incident came after 990 migrants crossed the Channel on Saturday.
The highest total to arrive here in a single day this year was 1,295.
