First migrant death recorded at Manston detention centre

A MIGRANT housed in the Home Office’s Manston detention centre in Kent has died.

The man, who has not been named, arrived in the UK on a small boat crossing the Channel on Nov 12, and was taken to hospital after officials noticed he was unwell.

Early indications are that the man did not die of an infectious disease, following reports that migrants housed at the centre had been vaccinated against diphtheria because of an outbreak.

Whitehall sources said that he was discharged from an unnamed NHS Trust on Tuesday, but held in the centre’s 24-hour medical facility amid concerns about his welfare.

After his condition worsened on Friday night he was transferred back to a hospital, where he died yesterday. Efforts to contact the man’s next of kin have so far been unsuccessful, but a Home Office spokesman issued “heartfelt condolences to all those affected”.

The centre was this month found to be housing more than 4,000 people despite having a safe limit of 1,600.

Manston is designed to hold arrivals in the UK for 24 hours, but some migrants were reportedly held there for up to 32 days amid a backlog in processing of asylum applications.

The backlog has been exacerbated by an increased number of asylum applications, antiquated IT systems, high staff turnover, and too few workers, according to a report by Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee.

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, began an operation to move occupants to hotels, which cost an estimated £7 million per day. The Home Office is facing two legal challenges over the centre, from a woman detained there and from the PCS – a union representing Border Force workers.

Ms Braverman was reportedly given legal advice that the length some migrants had been held in the detention centre was in breach of the law.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said there would need to be a “full investigation” into the incident.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Every person in Manston must be looked after with the care and attention they need. When a tragic death like this takes place it is always a matter of serious concern.

“It is vital that a thorough and speedy investigation takes place to understand what happened and whether all the necessary procedures were followed.”