Senior Home Office officials have confessed they "completely lost our grip" on the escalating crisis at the Manston asylum processing centre in Kent, a public inquiry has been told. The investigation is examining the severe deterioration in conditions at the former RAF base between June and November 2022.
Overcrowding, Disease, and Death
The inquiry, which opened this week, heard that the facility became "overcrowded, squalid and insanitary." Designed for a maximum of 1,600 people, it was holding approximately 4,000 detainees at the peak of the crisis. This severe overcrowding directly contributed to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including diphtheria and scabies.
Testimonies and evidence describe newly arrived asylum seekers being forced to sleep on filthy floors or flattened cardboard boxes. Sanitation collapsed, with toilets overflowing with human waste. The inquiry heard that women and children were made to sleep close to unrelated men, raising serious safeguarding concerns.
The human cost was devastating. A Kurdish asylum seeker, Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, died in hospital on 19 November 2022 after contracting diphtheria at Manston. In a separate tragic incident, a pregnant Syrian woman suffered a miscarriage after being denied immediate medical attention. There were also allegations of assaults by some staff members working on the site.
Systemic Failures and Prolonged Detention
While individuals were supposed to be held at the short-term processing centre for no more than 24 hours, the inquiry revealed systemic failure. Official documents show that of the 29,000 people processed at Manston between 1 June and 22 November 2022, a staggering 18,000 were detained for much longer periods.
The admission from officials that they had lost control emerged in documents disclosed as part of an earlier court case concerning the facility. Leading counsel to the inquiry, Clair Dobbin KC, stated the investigation would scrutinise the "decisions, actions and circumstances" that led to these dangerous conditions, with a focus on the risks to both mental wellbeing and physical safety.
A Downgraded Inquiry and Key Participants
The current non-statutory inquiry was initiated after a commitment from former home secretary James Cleverly in March 2024. However, in September 2024, his successor Yvette Cooper downgraded it from a statutory inquiry to an independent one. This change means it has fewer powers to compel witnesses to attend. The government cited cost as a primary reason, with the original statutory inquiry projected to cost £26m, compared to £2.6m for the current version.
A wide range of participants are involved in the proceedings, represented by six different law firms. They include:
- Four government departments: the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Treasury, and Ministry of Justice.
- The Cabinet Office and 171 asylum seekers who were detained at Manston.
- Former Home Office clandestine Channel threat commander Dan O'Mahoney and former home secretary Suella Braverman.
- Organisations including the UK Health Security Agency, contractor Mitie Care and Custody, and the NGO Humans for Rights Network.
The inquiry, chaired by Sophie Cartwright KC, will now work to establish the full extent of the failures at the Manston detention centre and determine accountability for one of the most serious breakdowns in the UK's recent asylum processing system.
