A Home Office employee who allegedly assaulted detainees at a G4S-run immigration centre has been suspended.
The private security firm said yesterday nine of its staff had been suspended pending an investigation into Panorama allegations.
The BBC show spoke of ‘chaos, incompetence and abuse’ at the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre near Gatwick Airport in west Sussex, where drugs are allegedly ‘rife’.
A Home Office worker has been suspended after accusations of abuse, assault and mocking of detainees at this immigration removal centre
Now sources confirmed that a Home Office worker has also been suspended while allegations are investigated.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We condemn any actions that put the safety or dignity of immigration removal centre detainees at risk.
‘We are clear that all detainees should be treated with dignity and respect and we expect G4S to carry out a thorough investigation into these allegations and that all appropriate action be taken.’
Panorama claims to have undercover footage showing officers ‘mocking, abusing and even assaulting detainees’ at the facility.
Undercover filming from Panorama revealed what conditions at Brook House are like as it faces accusations of not treating detainees with dignity
The centre is one of two run by the private security firm, which also runs five prisons in England and Wales
Brook House, which can hold 508 adult men, is one of two G4S immigration centres in the UK.
Some men had been held there for more than two years in ‘stark and impersonal’ residential units with unsatisfactory sanitary facilities, the latest inspection revealed.
But overall the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke in March said it was an ‘encouraging’ inspection.
Detainees have complained of ‘stark and impersonal’ conditions in the residential units
The BBC went undercover to film in Brooke House, which stands accused of having unsatisfactory sanitary facilities
It is the latest in a number of scandals to hit the security company, which is also runs five prisons in England and Wales.
Panorama uncovered alleged abuse and mistreatment of youngsters at a G4S youth detention centre in Kent last year.
Young inmates being allowed to watch sexually explicit content on television at Medway Secure Training Centre resulted in an inadequate Ofsted rating.
Riots hit HMP Birmingham, also run by G4S, in December 2016, and were some of the worst in a UK jail in years.
The Panorama episode is due to air on BBC One at 9pm on Monday.