Hunger strike over at Campsfield

Campsfield House houses people who are waiting for deportation

Detainees at an immigration removal centre have ended their hunger strike over living conditions.

At its height, it was thought 70 detainees were refusing prepared meals at Campsfield House, near Oxford.

The strike was led by a group of Iraqi Kurds protesting at the threat of being deported back to Iraq, where they said their lives would be at risk.

The Home Office confirmed the protest concluded on Wednesday when detainees began accepting meals again.

A spokesman said it was listening to the issues raised by detainees and working to find solutions.

Previous riots

Protesters were refusing prepared meals but still had access to a snack shop, the Home Office added.

No-one was treated for starvation during the hunger strike which began earlier this month.

The UK Border Agency has said it is committed to its policy of removing people who have no legal basis to stay in Britain.

Last week, a group of Iraqi Kurds said in a statement that they were protesting because they were being treated like criminals and were separated from their families.

Detainee Fazzel Abdul Ahmed said he knew of one man who had been deported from the UK and had shot himself the following day.

There has been a long campaign to close Campsfield House, where there have previously been riots.

Eight men are still on the run after they started a fire and escaped from the centre in August last year.