Yarl's Wood concerns confirmed

Officers at the centre bragged of beating people up

An inquiry has found alleged episodes of racism and abusive language by staff at Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire were substantiated.

Control and restraint techniques were more commonly used than at other centres, Prisons Ombudsman Stephen Shaw said.

But he found no evidence that there was a culture of abuse, racism or violence at the facility.

Mr Shaw was investigating claims made by the Daily Mirror in December 2003.

He added that racially derogatory remarks about some of the detainees made by staff were "simply unacceptable", regardless of context, while others where deemed "unfortunate".

Isolated incidents

The Ombudsman also found that force had been used to control inmates in a very large number of incidents.

But he pointed out that the abusive remarks were attributable only to "a small handful of people", and that the company that runs the centre had since laid off some of its employees.

"While it is of concern that they felt able to speak as they did, I note that two of the three no longer work for the company, and I am satisfied that GSL [Global Solutions Ltd, which runs the centre] has taken appropriate action," he added.

The Home Office has accepted all the recommendations in the report, including the need to improve staff training and to assess those who run training courses.

GSL Chief Operating Officer David Banks later pointed out that the abusive behaviour of a few who no longer work for the company did not reflect a racist culture at Yarl's Wood.

"We do not tolerate racism of any other discrimination in the workplace," Mr Banks said in a press release issued by GSL.

"The most important point is that the Ombudsman's investigation has concluded there is no racism or a culture of violence at Yarl's Wood."

Troubled history

The episodes of misconduct were exposed by an undercover reporter with the Mirror who managed to get a job with Group 4, now called Global Solutions Ltd, which runs the centre.

He claimed that some of his fellow officers had bragged of maltreating detainees.

One officer was sacked and two more disciplined by the company in the wake of the scandal, and a retraining programme was launched.

Yarl's Wood centre has a troubled history: one entire block with a capacity of 450 was burned to the ground during a riot in February 2002.

The centre was closed down, and an undamaged wing eventually reopened in September 2003 to house 60 women.

The Prison Ombudsman had already conducted a previous inquiry into claims that detainees were denied food for three days and were seriously injured by guards in the aftermath of the riot.

The centre is expected to provide accommodation for about 400 women and families by 2005.