Police immigration detention cells "squalid and unfit"

A joint report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons and the Inspector of Constabulary has condemned suite of 13 cells in Southwark, south-east London, unhygienic, unsafe and unfit for use. The inspectors found that some of the cells had congealed blood and human waste on their walls and recommended that the facility should be closed until the fundamental concerns were remedied. The report also said that the problems at Southwark arose from the fact that the UK Border Agency contracted the facility from the Metropolitan police, yet failed to provide any oversight to ensure acceptable conditions. [See:]