According to the Campaign to Close Campsfield, detainees were evacuated into the yard at around 10:30pm on Saturday after a fire in the centre's makeshift kitchen (a Portakabin where the centre's detested diet of chips is prepared). There was allegedly a risk that the large gas bottles stacked outside would explode. Then, at about 10:45, reports came in that a group of detainees were smashing through the back gate. At about 11:30, detainees were being marshalled back into their cells and locked in, while a police helicopter was circling around. No fewer than eight fire appliances were seen. Hoses were being paid out although the kitchen fire had reportedly been extinguished.
A while later a new fire broke out in one of the accommodation blocks and detainees were evacuated into the yard again. Meanwhile, another group were trying to break out but these did not succeed. About 6 police vehicles were already at the side gate, with dogs and some officers donning riot gear. There was a moment of drama when the "spacemen" approached the penned-in detainees and were pelted with mud, small stones and insults.
Around 6:30 on Sunday morning, detainees were taken back inside and were "locked down" with police lining the corridors of the centre.
A statement by detainees at Campsfield House on Tuesday read:
“Newport immigration court, which is used for bail hearings and appeals involving Campsfield detainees, is very discriminatory compared to other courts in the UK: the bail application and appeal success rate there is less than 5%. Living conditions for detainees are appalling. Campsfield is a health hazard with 70% infection with flu. Paracetomol is the only medicine made available; two weeks ago even this ran out. Campsfield was rife with scabies, but only staff were issued with gloves. Although detainees are held civil detainees, not convicted prisoners or prisoners on remand, food, toilets and showers are a lot worse than in prisons. Some detainees are being held even though they have won an appeal against deportation. Others have clearly stated that they want to go back to their country of origin but have still been waiting in Campsfield for months.â€
A statement by No Borders UK noted that police have portrayed the escapees as criminals, urging members of the public to "contact us immediately should they see anyone they believe could be one of those involved." Seeking asylum, the statement added, "is not a crime and these people should not have been imprisoned. We call upon members of the public to assist these vulnerable people." The BBC had proudly reported that a local resident in Kiddlington tackled and detained one of the escapee asylum seekers who had asked him for help, while some so-called refugee support organisations urged the escapees to turn themselves over to the police. The former chairman of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Imam Sajid, for example, was quoted saying "It is hard to be sympathetic towards anyone who breaks the law, but these men must be desperate."
Campsfield immigration prison
Campsfield House was converted into an immigration detention centre in 1993, amid a storm of protest from local residents [history]. The so-called Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) is run by GEO, the private US prison company previously known as Wackenhut, which took over from Group 4 in May 2006. The centre, surrounded by 20ft fences with razor wire on top, holds up to 200 male asylum seekers at any time. Within 6 months of its opening, six asylum seekers escaped following a rooftop protest. Regular demonstrations and pickets outside Campsfield, mainly organised by the Campaign to Close Campsfield, have since become a common occurrence.
In March this year, Campsfield witnessed another riot when detainees tried to intervene and stop a forceful 'removal' of a fellow Algerian detainee. Following the 'disturbance', Robert Whalley CB was asked by the Home Office to extend his investigation into the Harmondsworth 'disturbance' on 28-29 November, 2006, to that establishment as well. Among other things, Mr Whalley said:
“The Harmondsworth and Campsfield House disturbances were very different, both in causation and in how they unfolded. Both occurred at a time when recent population pressures, falling heavily on vulnerable fabric in a hard-pressed detention estate, were accompanied by dislocation in casework handling, especially in the case of Foreign National Prisoners, which caused a build up of latent tensions.â€
“It did not take much to trigger these events. When they started, they soon escalated, despite best efforts to prevent this happening. The underlying causes are still there and, without any changes, the same thing could happen again at either establishment.â€
