Morton Hall immigration detention centre in Lincolnshire is to close.
An inspection report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons earlier this year found high levels of self-harm, violence and use of force at Morton Hall.
This closure is great news for campaigners and further proof that there is no case for immigration detention in the UK.
However, there is much more work to be done. There are six other immigration detention centres and two short-term holding centres in the detention estate, yet there are only around 350 people currently detained across the whole of the UK. The UK has one of the largest detention estates in Europe, and is the only country in the region without a statutory time limit on length of stay in detention. People are held for months and years in prison-like conditions.
During a global pandemic, there is really no excuse for people to be detained at all. The time is now for community-based alternatives and an end to immigration detention once and for all.
Campaigners These Walls Must Fall: “Words of celebration and victory are coupled with mourning the deaths of those killed inside – Carlington ‘Jammy’ Spencer, Rubel Ahmed, Lukasz Debowski, Bai Bai Ahmed Kabia and anger as the hostile environment continues.” You can read their full reaction here.
