Revealed: Home Office ‘completely lost grip’ at notorious Manston asylum centre

Court documents contain admissions by officials that they were unable to control the situation at the Kent facility where 18,000 asylum seekers were illegally detainedRacial abuse, physical assaults and no beds: life at Manston migrant centreHome Office officials have admitted that “we completely lost our grip” on the situation at a notorious asylum processing centre that led to 18,000 people being unlawfully detained in horrific conditions.Overcrowding at Manston, a former RAF base in Kent, in autumn 2022 led to an outbreak of diphtheria and scabies. Asylum seekers who had crossed the Channel in small boats were forced to sleep on filthy floors or on flattened cardboard boxes, while toilets were overflowing with faeces. Women and children were forced to sleep close to unrelated men and there were claims of assaults by guards. Continue reading...