Fears for safety at asylum centre

The centre holds asylum seekers whose cases are being fast-tracked

Concerns about detainees' safety at a detention centre in Cambridgeshire have increased, a prison report claims.

Twice as many detainees felt unsafe at Oakington Immigration Reception Centre as they did during the previous inspection in June last year.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons also found 14% of detainees reported being victimised by other detainees or staff.

However, inspectors welcomed the fact that recommendations on healthcare and race relations were being put in place.

There were 236 detainees at the centre, which is due to close next year, at the time of the report in June.

Suicide and self-harm

The report found 10 of the 12 main recommendations for improvement made last year had not been met, Anne Owers said.

The last inspection had pointed to the need for more robust systems to ensure the safety of a more vulnerable population as the centre wound down.

The centre had failed to implement most of the inspectors' recommendations on procedures for anti-bullying, and suicide and self-harm prevention.

Child protection and child care procedures were still insufficient, and there was still no independent assessment of the essential welfare needs of the 32 detained children, two of whom had been held for 48 days, she said.

In response to the report Immigration Minister Tony McNulty said: "We remain committed to many of the recommendations for Oakington outlined in the chief inspector's previous report and expect to achieve these in the coming months, despite the planned closure of the centre in 2006."

Families with children are no longer detained he said.

The centre in Longstanton holds asylum seekers whose cases are being "fast-tracked".