 Would-be immigrants to Britain are being treated “like parcels” at detention centres in Calais and at Heathrow airport, the chief inspector of prisons said in a report published on Wednesday. Conditions on the French side of the channel were particularly bad. At the Coquelles freight terminal in Calais, detainees were housed in “wholly inadequate” rooms which staff nicknamed “the dog kennels”.
| If they're detainees, that implies they're not legal immigrants, of course... |
“There was little for detainees to do, no hot food (and) poor hygiene provision,” HM Inspectorate of Prisons said in a statement.
| Guess they shoulda brought lunch, huh? What's that saying about "Poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part"? |
There was also a lot of confusion in the Calais centres about whether French or English law applied, the report said.
| Calais used to be part of England, but hasn't been for several hundred years. My guess would be that French law would apply. |
“Staff did not know whether they had the power to use force to stop attempts at suicide or self-harm, intervene in fights or prevent escape,” it found.
| Maybe they should just call the French cops and not worry about it? |
The report was based on unannounced inspections of three centres in and around Calais last August and five centres at Heathrow last October. The centres on the French side are run by private firm Securicor on behalf of the British government. They house detainees caught while trying to get into Britain via its ports or through the Channel Tunnel. “These centres operate outside the public gaze,” Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said. “Our reports raise serious concerns about safety and decency.”
| I'd say there should be some serious concern about truculent Third Worlders trying to swarm into Britain. |
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