Police watchdog set to probe death of migrant

THE Home Office is facing a probe by a police watchdog over the death of a migrant at one of its controversial immigration centres.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) last night confirmed that it was preparing to investigate the death of a man taken ill at Manston processing centre.

The man, who has not been named, arrived in the UK on a small boat on November 12. He was taken to Manston in

Kent where he fell ill and then transferred to hospital where he died on on Saturday.

An IOPC spokesman said: ‘We have received a referral [into the death] and have requested further information, which we will assess to determine what further action may be required.’

Manston is designed to hold arrivals in the UK for 24 hours but faced criticism after it was found to be housing more than 4,000 people despite having a safe limit of 1,600.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We take the safety and welfare of those in our care extremely seriously and provide 24/7 health facilities with trained medical staff at Manston.’