9 hours ago
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Dominic Casciani
Home and Legal Correspondent•@BBCDomC
PA Media
Manston short-term centre for cross-Channel migrants
Two former prime ministers and three former home secretaries may have to give evidence to an inquiry into serious allegations of chaos and unlawful activity at a centre used to hold cross-Channel migrants.
An internal Home Office document reveals that allegations of failures at the Manston holding centre in 2022 are likely to be "reputationally damaging" to the department.
The document, released after a legal challenge, shows there were at least 39 reports of failings as the centre became overwhelmed that year.
Incidents include a death in custody, unlawful detention of adults and children and Home Office officials charged with conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office.
An inquiry into what happened at Manston has just begun and is headed by an independent senior barrister - but she does not have powers to compel people to give evidence.
Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak may have to give evidence, as may former home secretaries Dame Priti Patel, Suella Braverman and Grant Shapps.
During 2022, the Home Office took over the former military facility near Ramsgate to help it cope with the number of migrants arriving in the UK in small boats and claiming asylum. By late summer it was overcrowded and at one point held around 4,000 people - three times more than its capacity.
At one point the crisis was so bad that the then home secretary Braverman was publicly fending off claims in Parliament that she had mishandled what to do with the arriving migrants.
Weeks later, Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, 31, died in hospital after seemingly contracting diphtheria at the centre, although it was not established if that was the cause of his death.
Earlier this year a legal hearing relating to Manston and the scope of the inquiry revealed the existence of a document listing all the allegations of potential failures. A High Court judge then ordered its disclosure to BBC News, the Guardian and the Independent.
PA Media
Suella Braverman speaking in Parliament in October 2022
The briefing note, prepared for the current Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, sets out "incidents and allegations" at Manston between June and November 2022.
"The list... includes a death in custody, unlawful detention of adults and children, and Home Office officials charged with conspiracy to steal and misconduct in public office," it says.
"Allegations raised include misfeasance in public office, breaches of the European Convention of Human Rights, breaches of... duties to safeguard children, breaches of the Short-Term Holding Facility Rules, breaches of planning permission, and breaches of health, safety, fire, and food safety regulations.
"The investigation of the conditions at Manston will probably be reputationally damaging for the Home Office."
The document details the number of people who may have to give evidence.
"The list of key individuals will include three former Home Secretaries (Rt Hon Dame Priti Patel MP, Rt Hon Suella Braverman MP, and Rt Hon Grant Shapps)," it says.
"External decision makers ultimately influencing the Manston operating model include the former Prime Minister (Rt Hon Boris Johnson), the former Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, MP), and the former Secretary of State for Defence (Rt Hon Ben Wallace)."
Five further former immigration ministers and Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office's former permanent secretary, may also need to give evidence.
The Home Office and other government departments are expected to provide legal advice to all the former ministers.
A spokesperson said that it would be inappropriate to comment further on the inquiry while it was ongoing.
