At the holding facility for those who have crossed the Channel, I saw scores of vulnerable people being held in one small room
Migrants trying to enter the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats have created a huge political furore. To hear government ministers talk about “protecting our borders” you might imagine that these migrants were the D-day landings in reverse. It is true that number of migrants coming in small boats has risen. There have been an estimated 9,000 this year so far, from countries including Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria, which is more than the total for 2020 (though overall asylum applications to the UK have gone down). But having whipped up public hostility to these people, the government seems to think that if they do reach the UK they can be detained at Dover in quite shocking conditions.
I saw these conditions for myself last week as one of a group of members of parliament from the home affairs select committee who visited the holding facility in Dover. The facility was terrible. There were 56 people crammed into a small room, including women, young children and babies. They were sitting or lying on thin mattresses which covered the entire floor, including the aisles between a small number of seats. At night they would sleep on these same mattresses. Legally they are only supposed to be held for 24 hours in this facility. The Home Office official in charge explained that there was an administrative process whereby the time could be extended to 48 hours and longer if necessary. When I tried to get her to explain how long individual migrants were actually staying, she said that she did not know.
