Cooper slams May over Yarl's Wood abuse

Labour rounds on Home Office over investigation into Serco-run detention centre


PA

By David Singleton

03 Mar 2015

The Shadow Home Secretary has accused the Home Office of presiding over "state-sanctioned abuse" at Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre.

Ms Cooper was speaking in the Commons today after a guard was secretly filmed calling inmates "caged animals".

The footage was filmed by an undercover reporter for Channel 4 News. The investigation into the centre in Bedfordshire, which is run by private firm Serco, also raised concerns about self-harm by inmates.

Serco said it had appointed former barrister Kate Lampard to carry out an independent review of its work, but Ms Cooper called for ministers to take responsibility.

"Even now ministers haven’t set up an independent inquiry, Serco has. We are simply leaving it to the company to set up the independent inquiry. The Home Secretary should have come to the house today to answer this. It is an utter disgrace what has been happening, and the continued failure to look into this.

"She should take some responsibility for a change. To stop pregnant women being victims of sexual violence, being held in Yarl's Wood at all, to hold a proper independent inquiry because this is state-sanctioned abuse of women on the Home Secretary's watch and it needs to end now."

Home Office minister Karen Bradley responded that there was "no evidence" that any detainees were at risk.

She added that the Government was now insisting that body-worn cameras were used by Serco officials at the centre, in a bid to improve trust in policing at the facility.

 

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