Guards at an immigration detention centre close to Heathrow airport are trying to end a protest involving dozens of detainees at the facility.
Those held at Harmondsworth say they are protesting about conditions including poor access to healthcare services and soaring temperatures in cells.
Detainees claim that Home Office contractors have lost control of the centre at a time when the Home Office is planning to detain and deport 3,000 people a month – a tenfold increase on current numbers.
“There’s no windows – we can’t breathe here. It’s the same as a prison, with two people in a [2m x 2m] cell. It is unbearable,” a detainee from Iraq said.
Artan, who arrived from Albania by small boat and has been at Harmondsworth for three months, told the Guardian by phone: “It’s a really dangerous situation in this centre. It’s very aggressive here, everyone breaking glasses and keeping small pieces in their hands and saying they want to harm themselves.”
Detainees have reportedly broken down doors and ransacked the kitchen for food and water they say they have been denied.
“People are inside their rooms, locked, they have no food since midday,” one of the protesters said.
“I have heart problem, liver problem, so many medical problem, but doctors, they come along, they say: ‘He’s high, he’ll be all right.’ I need to go to hospital,” said Yuusuf from Somalia. “People are suffering, they’re losing patience. They ignore us when we ask for help. They just lie to us.”
The protest on Sunday is the latest in a series of issues at Harmondsworth, also known as Heathrow immigration removal centre, the biggest facility of its kind in Europe.
In March the death of Colombian detainee Frank Ospina was followed by reports of disturbances and further suicide attempts.
Recently a fight broke out between guards and some detainees who were reportedly drunk on homemade alcohol. Home Office sources confirmed that one person was taken to hospital after the incident as a precaution.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We are responding to a disturbance at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre. There are no reports of any injuries being sustained by members of staff or residents. The Metropolitan police are also in attendance and we will make no further comment while the incident is being resolved.”
Home Office sources said that the wellbeing of those in immigration removal centres (IRCs) was taken extremely seriously, that there were policies in place to safeguard vulnerable people and that they remained committed to further improving these. They added that all IRCs have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses and that as part of their planning for the extreme heat, all IRCs have stocks of bottled water for residents, and summer clothing and sun cream are provided for those who need it. First-aid kits are fully stocked to help avoid any unnecessary calls to ambulance services.
