Using military barracks to house asylum seekers was a “serious error in judgment” after a major coronavirus outbreak at one site, an inspection ruled.
Conditions at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent and Penally Camp at Wales were “totally unacceptable” and represented “serious failings on the part of the Home Office,” Chief Inspector David Bolt said.
The two sites have been used to house hundreds of people seeking refuge in the UK, despite warnings from Public Health England that they were unsuitable during the pandemic, the independent chief inspector of Borders and immigration.
Penally Camp in Wales was closed last month
Overcrowded conditions and poor hygiene resulted in coronavirus outbreak in Napier in January and February when more than 200 asylum seekers tested positive.
Residents had previously told Sky News that they were “treated like criminals” the.
ICIBI and Her Majesty’s Prison Inspectorate Report found asylum seekers unable to protect themselves COVID-19[female[feminine due to a lack of social distancing and dirty facilities.
People couldn’t find out how long they would stay there, which negatively impacted their mental health, the inspectors added.
There was also a fire in the installation in January, but no injuries were reported.
A bathroom inside the Penally Camp
Penally Camp was closed last month, but with Napier still in operation, MPs are calling for it to be closed.
Twenty-one members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration and Detention wrote to Priti Patel expressing “serious concern” and fearing that residents are at “very serious risk of harm”.
Fire departments are pictured in Napier in late January
The letter reads: “We do not believe that such sites provide a secure and stable system …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-17 02:52:00
