Dozens riot at detention site

RIOT police confronted dozens of migrants armed with makeshift weapons in Britain’s biggest detention facility after a major disturbance broke out during a power cut.

Dozens of detainees left their rooms on Friday night as Harmondsworth Detention Centre near Heathrow Airport lost power and water. It is believed some armed themselves with ‘bits of furniture’ such as chair legs, caused mayhem by throwing objects on to the corridors and lit a bonfire in the courtyard. The facility, which is populated largely by Albanians, contains migrants and foreign criminals who face deportation.

Sources said staff lost control of the centre, but restored order ‘bit-by-bit’ with the aid of riot police. Last night, as normality returned, up to 670 detainees were being removed to other overcrowded centres.