EU citizens are our “friends and neighbours” Number 10 insisted today, amid reports that Spanish and Italian people arriving in the UK without the right papers had been held in detention centres.
Downing Street defended the government’s border policies amid reports that EU citizens had been detained by officers after arriving at Heathrow airport without the correct paperwork.
In cases first reported by Politico Europe, one woman was transferred in the middle of the night to nearby Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre and deported to Milan the following day.
Others were reportedly held in the prison for up to five days before being removed from the country.
Colnbrook is surrounded by barbed wire fences. Some cells are reportedly windowless, and what windows there are have bars on them.
The centre was described as "a prison" by one detainee.
Mobile phones are seized on entry to prevent people taking photos or videos - they are later allowed to use phones without cameras.
According to Politico, arrivals are repeatedly searched and have their belongings confiscated - including suitcases, wallets and money.
Marta Lo Martire, a 24-year-old woman arriving in London to work as an au pair, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica she thought she had the correct documentation when she arrived.
She said she had met a second woman in the prison who had been held there for five days.
“She spent four days on her own; then, on the fifth day, they brought two more girls,” Ms Lo Martie said. “She told me the first few days she was going crazy; it was ‘a horrible nightmare’. Always alone, no contact, her cell phone had also been seized, and she couldn't remember her family members' phone numbers. She had to wait for them to find her.”
Boris Johnson ’s official spokesman defended the removals, but while he insisted EU citizens were “our friends and neighbours”, he refused to comment on “individual cases.”
Asked if the government was being “heavy handed”, the spokesman said: “For those that are coming in, we've done a lot of work to share information across the EU to encourage all EU nationals to check what documentation and visas are necessary.
“And so they're aware they may be refused permission to enter at the border."
Asked if the government was going to tell Border Force to change its approach, the spokesman said: “I think the approach that we’re taking is as I’ve set out.”
He added: “The majority are seeing no issues as a result of that. That’s work we will continue.”
He said the UK’s approach was “very much in the spirit” of agreements made with the EU after Brexit - “and we’ll continue to do so.”
A Home Office spokesperson told La Repubblica: “EU Citizens are our friends and neighbours and we want them to remain in the uk, which is why they have until 30th June to apply for the EUSS if they were resident in the UK before 31st December. For those who were not resident before this date, as the public expects, we require evidence of an individual's right to live and work in the UK.
“If an EU citizen is considering moving to the UK for work or study, we encourage them to check the requirements for applying for a visa – we have communicated this requirement in every EU country, translated information into EU languages, and have worked closely with FCDO and EU consulates to encourage EU member states to also communicate this to their citizens.”
