Four parliamentarians have sent a joint letter to the Home Secretary today, calling on her to reconsider the decision to award a new contract to run Brook House and Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) to the company Serco.
The letter was co-signed by Thangam Debbonaire MP (Chair, APPG on Refugees), Kate Green (Chair, APPG on Migration), Alison Thewliss MP (Chair, APPG on Immigration Detention) and Paul Blomfield MP (Vice-Chair, 2014-15 Joint APPG Inquiry on Immigration Detention).
Serco has held the contract to run Yarl’s Wood, an IRC for women and families, since 2007. The MPs’ letter highlighted serious concerns about the company’s performance in that time, including:
- Repeated allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse, of detainees at Yarl’s Wood
- An ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to Serco’s contract with the Ministry of Justice for electronic tagging of offenders between 2010 and 2013
- The company’s decision in 2018 to change locks on asylum accommodation it was providing in Scotland, where asylum applications had been refused and tenants had not moved on – prompting public outrage.
A full copy of the letter is available below. It is also available to download here.
