Brook House: Ex-detainee describes 'riot shield attack'

Brook House immigration removal centre, near Gatwick Airport, can hold up to 448 detainees

A former detainee has told a public inquiry into an immigration centre how officers in riot gear entered his cell and attacked him with a shield.

The Brook House Inquiry heard the incident happened as the man's cellmate faced being moved to another centre.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he became aware of what might happen when he saw five or six men outside the cell on 5 June 2017.

"They were the most feared crew in detention," he said.

The inquiry is examining abuse at the immigration centre near Gatwick Airport in Sussex after undercover filming by the BBC's Panorama programme exposed ill-treatment of detainees in 2017.

Brian Altman QC, counsel to the inquiry, said officers in some circumstances feared boiling water being thrown at them.

The witness said he could not remember whether a kettle had been boiled but said he refused an order to stand by the metal door because he was scared of being hit by it when they entered the cell - and lay on his bed on his back.

He said: "When they came in, the shield was put on me and I had to use my hand to push it back... I had to sit up and put my back on the wall and that was what led to me screaming..."

The officers claimed they were trying to protect him, he said, but continued: "I'd just been assaulted, I was angry. I just experienced something I've never experienced before in my life."

He said he was not physically injured, but confirmed he complained verbally about use of force.

The inquiry viewed body-worn camera footage in closed session.

The inquiry is examining abuse at the centre after undercover filming by the BBC's Panorama programme

The 31-year-old Nigerian man claims he was detained at Brook House unlawfully.

He said the 12 weeks he spent there from April to July 2017 had a "crushing" effect on his mental health, leaving him with depression, anxiety and PTSD.

He said there was "no other name for what it looked like than a prison" with its barbed wire, high fences and huge gates.

The wing he stayed on smelt of drugs and detainees were "high on spice", the room had no privacy and no ventilation, and there was no curtain for the stained toilet - until the detainees found one - so the man, from his bed, could see his cellmate using it.

The man said the room was not cleaned unless they did it themselves, but they could not always access cleaning products.

Because of the smells and noises, he said he and his cellmate decided neither of them would use the toilet when they were locked in, which happened several times a day.

Five years ago Callum Tulley, a former Brook House officer and now a BBC journalist, carried out secret filming

The inquiry also heard the men used communal showers that were often blocked so they had to step into used water, while staff swore at detainees and treated the men "like rubbish".

The man said: "After I left detention, I think there was a realisation that everything was different for me.

"Initially, I think the first two/three months, I just thought it's something I could brush off, but at some point I had to face the reality that I was a different person...."

The inquiry continues.

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