Eleven members of the APPG on Immigration Detention have written to the Home Secretary Priti Patel today, following alarming reports of positive Covid-19 cases at Dungavel and Brook House IRCs last week.

If true, the cases show the unnecessary risks people are being exposed to as a result of the Home Office’s decision to continue immigration detention during a pandemic.

With infection rates rising rapidly across the country, the letter calls on the Home Secretary to make immediate arrangements for the release of all those still held in detention. It highlights the need, now more than ever, for the Home Office to be prioritising public health aims over all else – including immigration enforcement.

The letter also requests key information about the current situation in relation to Covid-19 across the detention estate, including at Dungavel and Brook House.