Asylum seekers awaiting deportation at a detention centre were physically prevented from taking their own lives or self-harming on 18 occasions last year, detailed official accounts show.
Staff at Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport used physical force to prevent suicide and self-harm attempts, according to documents released under freedom of information laws.
Many of those detained at the facility had been told they would be deported to Rwanda. One asylum seeker tried to kill himself after becoming visibly distressed at a meeting with Home Office officials, according to the documents.
The figures can be revealed as the home secretary, Suella Braverman, seeks to expand the size of the UK’s detention estate in order to lock up and swiftly remove asylum seekers who arrive into the UK on small boats.
An official inquiry into conditions at Brook House, launched after an undercover exposé by Panorama exposed the mistreatment of detainees, is due to be published in the summer.
Internal documents were completed by Serco employees working at the detention centre between January and November last year and seek to explain why the use of force was necessary.
The privately operated centre holds asylum seekers who are going to be deported from the UK on organised charter flights, and individuals who are deemed too challenging to be held in other less secure facilities.
At least 19 detainees at the facility were last year issued with removal directions saying they would be sent to Rwanda, officials have confirmed.
In one case, a detainee was said to be visibly distressed during a meeting held to discuss his immigration status. After the meeting, the detainee started to bang his head against the wall. He was then escorted back to his room by Serco immigration officers where he attempted to kill himself before being restrained.
Other detainees attempted to overdose, smash their heads on the wall and use sharp improvised implements.
More than one-quarter of detainees at Brook House have felt suicidal while staying at the centre, according to the latest report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons published last year. Four years ago, when the centre was run by G4S, this figure was higher, at 40%.
In 2020, G4S ended its involvement in the immigration sector, after undercover footage from Brook House showed staff members abusing and assaulting detainees. Serco took over the running of the centre, and was awarded a £277m contract to run Brook House and another nearby detention centre, Tinsley House.
But the most recent inspectorate report, published last September, found that Brook House was a crowded, prison-like environment which failed to meet the needs of detainees with mental health problems.
In the Home Office documents, Serco officers describe having to deal with emotionally distressed and sometimes “abusive and aggressive” individuals during busy, and sometimes understaffed, shifts.
Officers have reported being bitten, spat at and fearing for their personal safety during 12-hour shifts, while attempting to prevent detainees from harming themselves.
On 24 July 2022, one officer – who was on his sixth consecutive night shift – had just left the constant supervision of one vulnerable detainee when he was called to assist with a suicide attempt on the same wing. After being physically restrained the detainee asked: “Why won’t you let me kill myself?”
The government currently operates seven immigration detention centres along with some short-term holding centres in various parts of the UK. Officials say they can accommodate 2,200 people at any one time.
Plans to reopen Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and the Haslar centre in Gosport, Hampshire, emerged last year.
Earlier this month, the Home Office confirmed that investigations had been launched by police and the prisons and probation ombudsman into the death of Frank Ospina at Colnbrook immigration removal centre near Heathrow. He is believed to have been 39 and from Colombia.
There are established procedures in place in every immigration removal centre and short-term holding facility to minimise instances of self-harm with formal risk assessments on initial detention and systems for raising concerns at any subsequent point.
Staff at all centres are trained to identify and prevent the risk of suicide and self-harm.
Mick Pimblett, the assistant general secretary at the Prison Officers Association, said: “Our members at Brook House work in one of the most challenging workplaces in the UK. They are constantly dealing with violent, aggressive, and emotional individuals and do so with great professionalism.
“Whilst the number of use-of-force incidents is concerning, it must be noted that there is no suggestion within these figures that the force was unreasonable, unjustifiable, or disproportionate.”
The Home Office reviews all reports resulting from a use of force to ensure that techniques are used proportionately, and work is under way to implement the recommendations made in the HM Inspector of Prisons report, sources said.
A Home Office spokesperson said the health and welfare of individuals in the department’s care was of the utmost importance. “We are committed to protecting vulnerable people in immigration detention. All incidents of self-harm are treated very seriously, and every step is taken to try to prevent incidents of this nature. Our staff are rigorously trained to ensure the safety of residents, including on the appropriate use of force.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
