Key facts
- Failures at the Manston asylum processing site, including racism and overcrowding, are linked to decisions made at the highest levels of government.
- Manston was designed to hold a maximum of 1,600 people for no more than 24 hours.
- Up to 4,000 people were unlawfully accommodated at the site for several weeks.
- Conditions were described as profoundly insanitary, with outbreaks of scabies and diphtheria.
- A detainee, Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, died from diphtheria after what was described as a succession of missed opportunities for care.
- Racist language was used towards detainees by some staff, and questions were raised about unvetted staff working legally.
An independent inquiry into the Manston asylum processing site has heard that decisions made at the highest levels of government contributed to a "catalogue of failures" including racism, use of force, and chronic overcrowding. The facility, designed to hold a maximum of 1,600 new arrivals for no more than 24 hours, became dangerously overcrowded when ministers paused transfers to other accommodation.
At the peak of the crisis, up to 4,000 people were unlawfully accommodated at Manston for several weeks, often sleeping on the floor in profoundly insanitary conditions. This led to outbreaks of infectious conditions such as scabies and diphtheria, and reports of assaults and racist abuse from guards. The inquiry also heard of the death of Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, who contracted diphtheria after arriving in a small boat.
Laura Dubinsky KC, representing some participants, stated that the decision to pause sending asylum seekers to hotels was in line with thinking at Number 10, indicating that "Number 10 clearly did play a decisionmaking role." Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were involved in decisionmaking regarding the site during 2022. Priti Patel provided evidence that funding was deemed inadequate for the small boats issue, including for Manston and onward accommodation.
Clair Dobbin KC, counsel to the inquiry, described the situation as taking place in a "crucible of hostility" and stated the inquiry would examine whether the operation at Manston was "outside the law" at certain points. A senior Home Office official described the conditions as "the worst I have observed working in this environment." Lawyers representing participants accused the Home Office of presiding over "an institutional culture defined by impunity with widespread illegality and non-compliance with the law."