Alarm sounded over 'prison-like' conditions in UK immigration centres

Immigration detention centres in the United Kingdom still have a long way to go.That's according to a new report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) released on Thursday

During a visit to the country between March and April 2023, it flagged up several issues surrounding the uncertainty of how long migrants will be detained, "prison-like" conditions in centres and the treatment of those displaying symptoms of mental illness

The UK government blasted the report , saying it did not "recognise much" of its content.
The CPT report put forward a set of recommendations for Downing Street, which is currently trying to get its controversial bill  to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda through the House of Lords.

The UK should introduce a time limit for holding people under immigration legislation, with the uncertainty of not knowing the length of detention having a negative impact on detainees, it says.
At the moment, the UK 1971 Immigration Act does not establish a time limit for detention.

This means people can spend six months, and even a year or two in a detention facility, Hugh Chetwynd, executive secretary of the CPT, tells Euronews.
“The uncertainty when you get detained for how long you’re going to be there plays into your well-being,” Chetwynd says, “especially if you haven’t committed a crime and you’re going to be removed.”