Tory ex-ministers face serious questions over migrant centre chaos, inquiry hears

An overcrowded migrant reception centre in Manston, Kent, where a 31‑year‑old Iraqi man died after being handcuffed and denied timely medical care, has prompted “very serious questions” for senior figures of the former Conservative government, the inquiry heard on Friday. The centre, a repurposed military site turned emergency holding facility in early 2022, was built for a maximum of about 1,000 people and a legal stay of no more than 24 hours, yet by November 2022 it was sheltering roughly 4,000 migrants, including families with children. Home Office officials were aware that conditions were unlawful and that children were at risk, but they lacked an alternative accommodation plan. Former Home Secretaries Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman testified that Number 10 Downing Street was involved in the decisions that led to the crisis, while immigration minister Robert Jenrick was described as disengaged during the period.

The inquiry highlighted a cascade of failures that exacerbated the humanitarian disaster. Doctors identified diphtheria among detainees, and the man who later died, Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, was suspected of carrying the disease; he was not taken to hospital until his condition had deteriorated sharply, dying at 05:30 on 19 November. Evidence showed detainees were crammed into marquees, sharing a single toilet among 81 families, with babies, children, teenagers and adults forced into the same space despite clear safety concerns. Some individuals had visible wounds, and one person used a plastic croissant wrapper as a makeshift dressing because medical care was unavailable. A senior Home Office official described the conditions as the worst he had seen in two decades, blaming “political decisions” for placing officials and suppliers in an impossible position that would inevitably lead to a public inquiry.

Witnesses also reported hostility and racism from some staff, including threats to withhold meals from detainees who needed to use the toilet. The lead lawyer, Claire Dobbin KC, stressed that the treatment of children in detention raised profound humanitarian and legal questions. While Patel and Braverman have already provided written evidence, Braverman’s personal legal representative, funded by the government, gave no oral statement, and it remains uncertain whether former prime ministers Boris Johnson or Rishi Sunak will be called to testify. The inquiry will continue gathering evidence, with full hearings yet to be scheduled, as it seeks to determine accountability for the systemic failures that allowed such conditions to persist.

⚡ Effects Interpreter