Senior Manston asylum centre staff under investigation for misconduct | Immigration and asylum
Two of the most senior staff running Manston, the controversial processing center in Kent for small boat arrivals, have been suspended and are under investigation for misconduct, the Guardian understands.
Witnesses said they were taken outside the Kent area.
The Home Office and its contractor Mitie, which employs two senior staff, confirmed the suspension and investigation but did not give reasons.
Home Office sources said they were aware that Mitie staff had been suspended and an investigation was ongoing. Sources added that this was a matter for Mitie and did not affect operations at Manston.
A spokesman for Mitie said: “We hold our staff to the highest standards and take allegations of staff misconduct very seriously. Where allegations are made we will investigate immediately and take appropriate action where necessary.”
Mitie sources said a high-level team is in place to ensure operations continue as usual.
Some of the new arrivals are survivors of rape and torture, and many are traumatized by their journey across the Channel in flimsy boats; Cases of hypothermia and fuel burns from boat engines are being reported.
An independent investigation is underway into what went wrong at Manston, which has become dangerously overcrowded with 4,000 asylum seekers in the second half of 2022, with plans to house a maximum of 1,600 people.
Kurdish refugee Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, whose procedures were processed in Manston, died in hospital after contracting diphtheria on 19 November 2022. There were outbreaks of scabies and diphtheria, unsanitary conditions such as toilets overflowing with feces, and allegations of assaults by guards.
Two former prime ministers (Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak) and three former home secretaries (Priti Patel, Grant Shapps and Suella Braverman) may be required to give evidence to the inquiry.
Asylum seekers were not supposed to be held for more than 24 hours at Manston, but documents show 18,000 of the 29,000 people processed there between June and November 2022 were held there for much longer. Home Office officials admitted in documents released as part of a case involving Manston that “we completely lost control” of the situation.
Around 200 asylum seekers who were unlawfully detained in Manston during this period are bringing legal challenges against the government over unlawful detention and related issues.
Manston has been rocked by a series of scandals, including a six-fold increase in the number of staff sacked for failing drugs tests in a year and an investigation into a racist message that was reportedly “blown up” at the centre.
