Reopening of Campsfield Detention Centre continues despite strong backlash
Oxfordshire MPs and UK charities are joining forces in an attempt to stop an immigration detention centre from reopening.
Revamp and Reopening
An immigration removal centre has been given the green light to re-open, in a statement made by the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, despite many MPs and charities showing their disapproval of the decision.
The Campsfield House located in Kidlington, Oxford is set to re-open after being granted a £70 million revamp contract, which will see its maximum capacity increase from 160 to 400 detainees.
The camp was originally closed in 2018, after the Conservative government’s decision to cut the UK’s detention estate by half, as resources were focused on increasing the Home Office’s rate of asylum application processing.
The revamped centre could see as many as 220 staff working there, creating job opportunities for the surrounding area. But many do not agree with the idea, as of the previous living conditions in centre.
‘Campsfield is a health hazard’
The UK charity StateWatch conducted a report on the living conditions at Campsfield during the time it was open, which included a statement made by the detainees in the centre.
The statement said, “Campsfield is a health hazard with 70% infection from flu. It was rife with scabies, but only staff were issued with gloves. Although detainees are held civil detainees, not convicted prisoners or prisoners on remand, food, toilets and showers are a lot worse than prisons.”
Responding to the statement, Oxford’s Green Party councillor Alex Powell said, “Campsfield House was a site that was not only home to immense cruelty and poor living conditions, but also which failed to achieve its purported goals. The detention centre was flagged up multiple times when it was active for its poor living conditions.”
Opposing views
It did not take local MPs long to show their disagreement with the announcement, as Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester Callum Miller, even asked the home secretary, if the proposed plans could be cancelled.
A response was received on November 5, as minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, denied any chances of the plans being scrapped and said the Home Office will proceed to open the centre.
Joining the local MPs, UK charity Asylum Welcome also showed their views on the reopening as they stated, “We are dismayed by the announcement that the new Home Secretary has decided to reopen and expand Campsfield House in Oxfordshire as an immigration detention centre.”
Councillor Alex Powell made it clear that, “I entirely oppose its re-opening. As an inherently dehumanising environment, there is no way in which any form of immigration detention can provide appropriate living conditions.”
He finished his response by saying, “I will be continuing to campaign against its re-opening and I hope that other residents of Oxford and Oxfordshire will join me in doing so.”