Rioters wrested control of Harmondsworth immigration removal centre from staff after a detainee was found hanged in his room. Prison officers in riot gear regained control of the buildings yesterday morning but a tense stand-off involving about 80 detainees continued in a recreation yard until yesterday afternoon.
The detainees were being moved to other centres around the country or handed over to the police and an investigation into the riot was launched by the Home Office. The centre will remain shut for several weeks.
Campaigners for asylum seekers claimed the disturbance highlighted problems with the new fast-track system, which began as a pilot at Harmondsworth in April last year. They argue that removal centres are packed with desperate people who are waiting to be sent back to countries where they fear they will be persecuted and who feel they have nothing to lose.
Discontent had been brewing at Harmondsworth; in May 220 detainees took part in a hunger strike, complaining about the length of time they were held, poor legal advice they were given and alleged assaults by staff.
Scotland Yard last night confirmed that five male staff members from Harmondsworth had been arrested over an allegation that a detainee was beaten. The five were interviewed under criminal caution and bailed after the alleged incident in February.
Four men were arrested yesterday in connection with Monday's disturbance, Scotland Yard said.
The apparent suicide in Harmondsworth is the second death in detention facilities in three months. In April an asylum seeker died at the Haslar facility. The incident is still under investigation.
Sarah Cutler of Bail for Immigration Detainees, which works inside places such as Harmondsworth, said: "You have poor lawyers, long detention and delays which are no fault of the detainees which are a recipe for unrest.
The chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, last year said Harmondsworth was "essentially an unsafe place for both staff and detainees" and, significantly, pointed out that there was "no means of locking down the centre in the event of concerted indiscipline".
Her report also highlighted "low" staffing levels. Though insiders at the centre said the staffing issue was being addressed, the number of officers on duty will be examined during the investigation.
The trigger for the riot came at around 8pm on Monday when a man, thought by campaigners to be of Kosovan origin, was found hanged. It is believed that he had just had bad news about his fight to stay in the UK. Rumours swept the centre that the man had been mistreated by custody guards and anger grew. Violence broke out at about 11pm.
At first custody officers managed to keep control of the centre, where 441 men were being held, but by midnight they had pulled out for their own safety after confrontations.
Throughout the night waves of Tornado squads - made up of prison officers trained in quelling riots - set about tak ing back control of the centre, hampered at times by fires set by detainees. A sprinkler system dampened the flames, but when firefighters tried to enter Harmondsworth they were pelted with missiles.
At 9.15am the squads, believed to have been equipped with tear gas, had regained control of the buildings.
However they were unable to retake one of the exercise yards. A police helicopter hovered until the stand-off involving a core of 80 detainees ended at 3.30pm. A Home Office spokesman said there were no injuries and described damage to the centre as "superficial".
Last night the government moved quickly to ensure that its fast-track policy did not fall into chaos. It laid down a statutory instrument allowing fast-track removals to take place at two other centres, Campsfield, near Oxford, and Colnbrook,due to open near Heathrow next month. This will allow the government to press on with the removals of two thirds of those who were held at Harmondsworth under the fast-track system - about 100 men.
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