The fire last year, started during a riot

In February Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes told local people the centre would start taking in asylum seekers whose claims had failed in April.

Now she says she cannot give a firm date.

The centre, near Bedford, was badly damaged by fire during a riot in February 2002.

It was closed entirely a month later when operators Group4 could not get insurance cover.

When she visited Yarl's Wood in October, Ms Hughes said that it would open this April with 60 women moving into the block still standing.

It would later take families involved in asylum and non-asylum cases.

Negotiating with insurers

At the same time local people were assured that sprinklers would be installed.

To date however none of that work has started.

But in a written answer to a Parliamentary Question from Conservative Bedfordshire North East MP Alistair Burt, Ms Hughes said the Home Office was still negotiating with Group4 and their insurers.

Until those negotiations were concluded there can be no firm date for the re-opening.

The �80m flagship centre opened late last year and was designed to hold 900 asylum seekers.