Hundreds gather at immigration detention protest

The demonstration followed a number of other protests over the past three years

Hundreds of people have gathered in what is thought to be the biggest protest against a female immigration removal facility since it opened three years ago.

Demonstrators chanted, sang and set off flares in what they described as a show of solidarity with the women inside Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in County Durham.

The site houses women waiting to be deported from the UK, but campaigners say it causes distress for vulnerable people.

The Home Office told the BBC the country's immigration removal estate was kept under constant review to ensure sufficient capacity.

The centre at Hassockfield, Consett, had space for 84 people when it replaced Yarl's Wood as the UK's singular women-only centre in November 2021.

It stands on the site of the former Medomsley Detention Centre, now synonymous with the historical abuse of boys and young men.

Protest gives women 'hope'

Opponents say women are kept at the remote, rural site indefinitely and describe the practice as "cruel, isolating and unnecessary".

Emma Pearson, of the No To Hassockfield campaign group, said: "Detention doesn't serve the purpose the government says it does.

"Somewhere between 70 to 80% of people are released back into UK communities."

Campaigner Emma Pearson says the demonstrations provide emotional support

Maggy Moyo, from the group These Walls Must Fall, said the women inside the centre would know the demonstration was a show of support for them.

"One of our members who was detained a few years ago told us that there was a protest outside, and they could hear them [the demonstrators] banging pots and making noise, and it gave her hope."

A Home Office spokesman said: "Following the change in government, plans for Derwentside IRC are under review."

According to the government, healthcare services at the centre are designed to meet the specific needs of residents and address issues such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional wellbeing and, in exceptional circumstances, pregnancy.

In August, politicians and campaigners said they were "angry" and "disappointed" over Labour's plans to reopen an immigration detention centre near Kidlington in Oxfordshire.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper responded by saying the government was "taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced".