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Treatment of those being removed from the UK falling short of fair and humane, finds independent monitors

Published:

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) Charter Flight Monitoring Team (CFMT) note in their 2023 annual report, published today (25 July 2024), that the treatment of people being removed from the UK under immigration powers on chartered flights fell short of being fair and humane in all respects. In a few cases this added to returnees’ distress.

The Board continues to highlight areas that have been of concern, and reported on, for some years, including:

  • The confinement of some returnees in parked vehicles for hours at a time, a practice of the escort contractor which the CFMT considers inhumane.
  • The continued removal by the Home Office of people with known vulnerabilities. This includes people with severe mental health needs and those at risk of harming themselves.
  • One example highlighting both of these practices includes a particularly vulnerable man who was taken directly from a secure mental health hospital to the charter plane. The removal paperwork had been served on him by a clinician and the CFMT found no evidence that the man understood what he was signing. He was held in a van for over seven hours and his medication was handed over to the receiving authority on arrival, raising questions around the observation of medical confidentiality. No response was received from the Home Office regarding CFMT’s detailed concerns around process.

The CFMT were pleased to report, however, that escorting staff generally showed empathy and respect when communicating with people who were being removed.

The CFMT Chair, Lou Lockhart-Mummery MBE said:

“The process of enforced removal is stressful. It is the responsibility of Home Office Immigration Enforcement to ensure the distress caused to those being removed is minimised and that people are treated humanely and fairly. The report gives examples of poor practice and we hope that the Home Office will act to improve both its own and its escort contractor’s approach.”