Manston migrant processing centre cleared

The Manston processing centre is intended to hold people for up to 24 hours while they undergo checks

The Manston migrant processing centre, a holding site for people who arrive in the UK on small boats, has been cleared of people being held there, the Home Office has confirmed.

Thousands of migrants had been placed in tents during the autumn, leading to overcrowding and outbreaks of disease.

Everyone staying at the temporary site has been placed in alternative accommodation, the Home Office said.

It is thought the government has bought space in hotels to ease the backlog.

The Home Office's efforts have been helped by bad weather in the English Channel, causing a sustained fall in the number of crossings.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Staff across the Home Office have worked tirelessly under challenging circumstances to source alternative accommodation as quickly as possible for those who have been processed at Manston.

"Thanks to their efforts, there are currently no people being accommodated on site, and improvements continue to be made to the site to ensure it remains well resourced to process migrants safely and securely."

The Home Office added it remained focused on deterring illegal migration and disrupting smuggling gangs.

One source said officials were hopeful that the "next few weeks look OK".

The former military airfield in Kent has been dogged by controversy in recent weeks, including the death in hospital of a man who was staying there.

An investigation into his death has been launched.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), following a referral from the Home Office, said the incident did not come under its remit.

It comes on top of revelations that the centre was holding up to 4,000 people, more than double its 1,600 person capacity.

Responding to the story first reported by the Guardian, a source said Manston - which was designed for migrants to be held for a maximum of 24 hours - would be used in future in a way that was "more business as usual" before the congestion started.

A stay of up to five days had been permitted in exceptional circumstances.

But inspectors found families sleeping on mats in the marquees for weeks.

There have also been a number of cases of diphtheria at the centre, as well as tensions between staff and the people who were detained there.

Lucy Moreton, head of the Immigration Services Union - which represents some staff at Manston - has previously said workers faced daily sit-down protests and being shouted at by people detained there.

She told BBC Radio 4 Today's programme earlier this month that "improvised weapons" were being found on a regular basis, as well as noting that "no prison in the UK has over 4,000 people uncontained, face-to-face with those who are responsible for controlling them".

Improvement works to the facilities are set to continue while there are fewer or no people held at the site.

The PCS Union - which represents Home Office staff and has joined legal action against the use of Manston - welcomed the news.

The union's head of bargaining Paul O'Connor said: "The conditions at Manston that refugees and our members have had to endure recently have been a disgrace."

He said the union was pleased Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has faced strong criticism for the conditions at Manston in recent weeks, had been "forced to respond to our concerns" over the facility.

Picture of some of the Manston facilities from inspection in July 2022 by HM Inspectorate of Prisons

There have also been reports of people being detained at Manston for up to three weeks due to shortages in accommodation for them, even though the facility is designed to hold those who arrive via small boats for around 24 hours while they undergo security and identity checks.

They are then supposed to be moved into the Home Office's asylum accommodation system, which often means a hotel - due to a shortage of available accommodation, such as designated hostels.

Manston, which is a former military base, reopened as a migrant processing centre in February this year to address the growing number of migrants reaching the UK in small boats. More than 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in this way in 2022.