A. Background information; (Read full CPT report)
8. The CPT visit to the UK in March and April 2023 took place at a time when the Government was announcing its increased determination to detain and remove all foreign nationals2 who did not have a right to reside in the UK. Particular emphasis was being made on clamping down on persons arriving by small boats across the English Channel. As part of this approach, the UK Government reaffirmed its determination to remove such persons to a third country where they might have their refugee determination status decided. In this respect, the Government has committed additional resources to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership signed in April 2022 with the Rwandan Government, whereby Rwanda will take foreign nationals removed from the UK and process their asylum cases.3 Further, in March 2023, as part of the approach to deter persons from taking small boats across the English Channel, the Government introduced the Illegal Migration Bill 2023 to Parliament, which explicitly makes the removal of persons arriving in the UK without a valid visa or entry permit easier, by stripping away a series of fundamental safeguards to protect them.
The Bill and removal policy being pursued by the UK Government has been harshly criticised by
numerous international and national organisations.4 The CPT likewise considers that the Bill erodes
basic safeguards that protect persons from being potentially subjected to torture and inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. Moreover, the monitoring experience of the CPT in relation to
migration issues since 1990 demonstrates clearly that harsh immigration detention policies do not
deter persons in need from making dangerous journeys to reach what they perceive as a safe
country. Persons seeking refuge need to be provided with a clear route by which they can find safety
for themselves and their families, preferably close to their country of origin but if that is not possible
further afield, including Europe.
In this context, it is also incumbent on members of the UK Government not to use inflammatory and
derogatory language when referring to foreign nationals arriving in the UK after undertaking a
hazardous journey. Promoting a hostile environment towards these groups of foreign nationals is
more likely to negatively impact their treatment generally and, more specifically, if they are deprived
of their liberty.
The CPT recommends that the United Kingdom authorities ensure that all foreign nationals
arriving in the UK have a right to apply for asylum in the UK and have their case processed
in line with international refugee and human rights law before any attempts are made to return
them to their country of origin or to a safe third country.
9. The current UK approach is a reversal of previous policy whereby the UK Government
informed the CPT in 2016 that it intended, inter alia to introduce a clear presumption against
detention of vulnerable people and that, as a result of the reforms and changes to be introduced, it
expected both to reduce the number of persons detained and the duration of detention before
removal. The CPT welcomed this approach. Indeed, such an approach is all the more important in
light of several critical reports since 2016 on the way in which immigration detention is applied and
the inadequate operation of the safeguards to protect vulnerable persons from being detained.
Particular reference is made to the “Statutory Inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 into mistreatment
and abuse in breach of Article 3 ECHR at Brook House IRC” exposed by undercover reporting in
2017.The Brook House Inquiry5 heard extensive evidence of systemic and institutional failures by
both the government and its private contractors (G4S), including misuse of force and racism, and is
expected to deliver its final conclusions in late summer 2023. In addition, Stephen Shaw produced
a follow-up report in 2018 concerning vulnerable persons6, while the Parliamentary Joint Committee
on Human Rights7, and the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee8 published their
own reports on immigration detention.
