Campsfield House: MP furious at plans to reopen immigration centre

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran called the closure in 2018 a "pivotal moment"

Plans to reopen a former immigration removal centre has been criticised as "disgraceful" by a Lib Dem MP.

Campsfield House in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, shut in 2018 after years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

Layla Moran says the community "will be incredibly dismayed by this announcement" after previously winning their fight to get the facility closed.

The Home Office says it will talk to interested parties about the plans.

The new facility, which could accommodate up to 400 male detainees, is not expected to open until at least late 2023.

It used to house a range of people, mainly asylum seekers and foreign national offenders.

More than 3,600 individuals passed through Campsfield House in 2017

Ms Moran, the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said: "This disgraceful decision reflects at best a failure of policy and at worst complete heartlessness from the Home Office.

"Our community fought for years to close this facility, and will be incredibly dismayed by this announcement.

"Locking people up for months on end - without giving them any idea how long they'll be detained - is inhumane and unnecessary."

Tom Pursglove, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, said: "Those who have abused the immigration system, including foreign national criminals who have devastated the lives of their victims, should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them.

"This is what the British public rightly expects.

"Opening a new immigration removal centre, as part of the New Plan for Immigration, will help ensure there is sufficient detention capacity to safely accommodate individuals ahead of removal."

The Home Office also said the welfare of future detainees would be of the "upmost importance".

The final inspection of the 282-bed facility before it shut found that 41% of its detainees felt unsafe.

The average length of detention was 55 days, but some were held for "excessive periods, with the longest detention at one year, five months".

Originally a young offender institution, Campsfield became an immigration centre in 1993.