APPGDetention

Many thanks too to colleagues at @BIDdetention, @JRSUK and @Medical_Justice for their invaluable briefing with delegates ahead of the visit

The information and insights gathered during the visit will inform the APPG's work going forward, as we continue to advocate for the welfare of people held in immigration detention across the UK

Important visit by our Chair @BellRibeiroAddy and member Baroness Lister to #Harmondsworth IRC yesterday - crucial to understanding what happens in detention and its impacts. Particularly grateful to the detained people who met with us and shared their experiences + concerns

Thanks too to everyone who attended, and especially those with lived experience of detention who shared their stories and demands for change so powerfully

Important APPG mtg today assessing the current situation in immigration detention, after deeply concerning reports in recent months Big thanks to our speakers @MordiOfficial, HM Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor + Dr Hindpal Singh Bhui of @HMIPrisonsnews and chair @BellRibeiroAddy

Particular thanks and a warm welcome to our newly elected Chair @BellRibeiroAddy and office holders @EdwardGarnier, Baroness Hamwee and @YasinForBedford. Look forward to working together

It's vital that the use + impacts of immigration #detention continue to be scrutinised in Parliament. So a big thank you to all the parliamentarians who attended the APPG's inaugural meeting on Monday, allowing the group to re-establish and carry on its important work

Particular thanks and a warm welcome to our newly elected Chair @BellRibeiroAddy and office holders @EdwardGarnier, Baroness Hamwee and @YasinForBedford. Look forward to working with you going forward

Parliament has now been dissolved, prior to the UK general election on 4 July. During this period, the APPG on Immigration Detention ceases to exist and will be re-established in the next parliament.

While the Inquiry was set up to investigate abuse of people detained in 2017, many of Ms Eves' findings relate to policies and practices that persist today, both at Brook House + across the detention estate. Read the full report and recommendations at: tinyurl.com/mvfccc7v

Important briefing yesterday from Kate Eves, Chair of the Brook House Inquiry - held jointly with @APPGMigration The Inquiry's final report, published in Sept, is vital reading for anyone seeking to understand the problems in immigration detention and what needs to change.

Also interviewed are local campaign group @LintonAction They describe the Home Office's plans as "cruel" and highlight concerns about asylum seekers' well-being + inability to access vital services from the site amongst other issues Listen from 2:07:14

"People shouldn’t be warehoused in large-scale camps of this kind in the UK or anywhere else" APPG Chair @alisonthewliss on @BBCYork earlier this week discussing gov's planned new asylum camp at RAF #LintonOnOuse Listen in full at tinyurl.com/5a3mb79f (from 1:06:44)

Holding vulnerable asylum seekers in cramped & crumbling accommodation is already beyond cruel. Shipping them off to a country with a record of human rights breaches is another level of evil entirely. #NotInOurName @appgdetention

Statement from our Chair @alisonthewliss on gov's plan to begin sending people claiming asylum to Rwanda, and to open a new asylum accommodation centre in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire:

Napier Barracks - a former military site in Folkestone now housing asylum seekers - must be shut down immediately, MPs and peers have said following an inspection. bbc.in/3r6rfMP

‘Fundamentally unsuitable’ asylum camp ‘must close with immediate effect’ MPs say independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

They call on gov instead to ensure that ppl seeking asylum are housed in decent, safe accommodation in the community that: - supports their well-being + recovery from trauma - facilitates their engagement with the asylum process - allows them to build links with their community

The MPs say they remain "deeply concerned" for the welfare of individuals accommodated at Napier + reiterate calls for the site to be closed with "immediate and permanent effect"

Out today - report of our members' visit to Napier Barracks in February tinyurl.com/3j8jtkbe