Migrants being stranded in London was a mistake, says minister

A coach arriving at the Manston processing centre in Kent this week

Mistakes were made after two groups of migrants were left stranded in London this week, the government has admitted.

Home Office minister Chris Philp said there had been a "misunderstanding", after people were mistakenly taken from the Manston centre in Kent and left at Victoria station.

But he said there had been "dramatic improvement" in conditions at Manston.

It comes amid a crisis for the government after criticism of its handling of overcrowding at the centre.

The Home Office was further criticised after it emerged two groups of migrants had been taken to Victoria Railway Station with nowhere to go.

Around 11 migrants who left the Manston processing centre and arrived at the station on Tuesday did not have accommodation.

After receiving help from volunteers at a homeless charity who liaised with the Home Office, the group was then taken to stay at a hotel in Norwich. The Home Office said officials had worked "at pace" to find accommodation for them.

Less than 24 hours afterwards, a second group of migrants was also taken to the capital without accommodation. The group slept rough on the streets until housing was provided, according to the local authority.

"Both groups of people told immigration officials at Manston they had addresses to go to, so friends and family," Mr Philp told Sky News.

"Obviously, that turned out subsequently not to be the case. Quite how that misunderstanding arose, maybe it was lost in translation, I don't know, but clearly they have now all been looked after."

• Cold, hungry migrants left stranded in London

• How many migrants cross the Channel in small boats?

Mr Philp's comments come after the government faced criticism following reports that Manston was holding migrants, including families, for four weeks, in breach of the law. It is intended that people stay for no more than 24 hours while their claim is processed.

At most, 1,600 migrants should be at the processing centre at any one time - the MP for the area said that figure was more like 4,000 on Monday.

Mr Philp told BBC Breakfast that there had been a "substantial effort" to reduce the number of people at Manston. The number has now fallen to 2,600, with 1,200 people taken off site in the last four days, No 10 said.

He added that he had seen a "dramatic improvement" with work carried out on facilities and additional accommodation built.

But Mr Philp also told Times Radio it was a "bit of a cheek" for people to "start complaining about the conditions when you've illegally entered a country without necessity" - remarks which have since been criticised, including by the Liberal Democrats who said they reveal a "callous complacency".

Asked if Mr Philp spoke for the government with this comment, Downing Street's official spokesperson said people seeking asylum in the UK "deserve to be treated with compassion and respect".

Policing minister Chris Philp

Addressing the instances of migrants being stranded in the capital, London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for the home secretary to launch an "urgent and thorough" review to ensure "the abandonment of those seeking refuge can never happen again".

Westminster City Council's Labour leader Adam Hug said the "chaos" of the situation meant local services and charities were "having to pick up the slack".

Mr Hug told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme the misunderstanding between immigration officials and migrants this week could have been down to language barriers.

"It could be people who are just desperately wanting to get out of a horrible situation that is on the ground in Manston," he added.

Mr Hug said that some of the migrants who were bussed into the capital on Wednesday were put on a coach to Norwich 12 hours later.

But Stephen Evans, chief executive of Norwich Council, has said the Home Office did not give its local officials any warning that the group would be arriving in the city. He said he first heard about it in a news article.

"We hadn't been told. We don't know who they are and we don't know where they've gone to in the city," he said.

He added that councils need to know where migrants are for safeguarding reasons, adding that the Home Office usually gives local leaders just a few days' notice when it comes to opening a hotel for migrants in their area.

Damian Green, the Conservative MP for Ashford in Kent and former immigration minister, said the Home Office had "taken it eye off the ball" and had been concentrating on plans to send migrants to Rwanda when it should have been be focussed on processing asylum claims more quickly.

He said if asylum seekers were quickly assessed then the need for housing thousands in hotels would be avoided.

Speaking to the Today programme, Mr Green accused the Home Office of housing migrants in hotels often "against the advice of police" and local authorities, adding that his own home county of Kent was "really under strain".

The Home Office said it was taking urgent decisions to alleviate issues at Manston, including sourcing alternative accommodation.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was heckled by some residents in Dover on Friday as he met with the town's MP, Natalie Elphicke, according to PA news agency.