Protests against immigration detention centre reopening

Protests ahead of the arrival of the first detainees at a reopened immigration removal centre have taken place.

Campsfield House, near Oxford Airport, was shut in 2018 after years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

The Coalition to Close Campsfield, whose supporters gathered at Carfax in the city centre and outside the facility, described the reopening as a "terrible step backwards".

But a Home Office spokesperson said it would "boost the UK's immigration detention capacity, supporting a higher pace of removals of those with no right to be in the UK".

"We remain committed to ensuring safety and security in all detention facilities, and we take the welfare of people in our care very seriously," they said.

The government said Campsfield House would be used to accommodate "a mixture of time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders" before they were removed from the UK.

It has undergone a £70m refurbishment, involving the creation of about 160 bed spaces, with further expansion in future for up to 400 beds.

The site's operator Mitie was recently given a six-year contract to run the centre.

The plans have also been opposed by MPs, residents and charities, as well as Oxford City Council.

Coalition to Close Campsfield supporter Bill MacKeith said: "It is awful that now we'll see suffering and abuse at this site again.

"It is truly shocking that this is being imposed on those who will be detained and on local people, all of whose elected representative bodies have long opposed it."

He said utilising Campsfield "ignores evidence, public opinion and basic humanity".

Another protest took place outside the centre on 22 November.

In a statement Asylum Welcome joint CEO Dr Hari Reed said: "As the first detainees arrive at Campsfield, we feel deeply sorry that people are once again being locked up in a system that causes profound harm.

"There is no such thing as a humane immigration detention centre."

The charity said it was piloting a three-month visiting service so that "people are not left completely isolated and forgotten".

Pilo Moreno, a former Campsfield detainee supported by Asylum Welcome, said: "That place is designed to take your humanity away.

"Every day, little by little, you lose something of yourself, and it's designed for that."

Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said: "I share the concerns of local residents that the Home Office has reopened Campsfield House without adequate consultation.

"It was closed in 2018 because it was not fit for purpose and endangered detainees and local residents through mismanagement.

"The government must clearly state why this site is needed, whether the huge costs associated are a good use of taxpayer funds and how it will be managed safely."

The Home Office said the healthcare at Campsfield would have "no impact" on other local services.

"Detained men will be held under immigration powers and will not be free to leave the centre or access the local area," the Home Office added.

"The [immigration removal centre] will have robust physical security measures and appropriate security procedures in place to ensure the facility operates safely and securely."

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