Warning: this article contains mentions of suicide, self harm and distressing content.
"We are not allowed to be [held] like this because we are migrants, we are not prisoners.
“This is destroying our lives.”
These are the words of Artan Koboci, a 36-year-old asylum seeker, who was held for five months at Brook House, an immigration removal centre (IRC) in the UK.
Brook House, located in the shadow of Gatwick Airport, is one of seven immigration removal centres in the UK.
The detention centre holds between 300 and 400 adult men waiting to find out whether they have the right to stay in the country. If not, they may be removed or deported from the UK.
The News Movement has spoken to seven people currently or recently detained at Brook House who have described conditions at the centre.
Two individuals are willing to be identified.
They said there have been suicide attempts and incidents of self-harm at Brook House. The News Movement spoke to one individual who attempted to take his own life in the centre earlier this year.
The individuals also claim staff threaten to place people in isolation cells and there is a lack of medical help inside the centre.
Artan told The News Movement he was held in isolation at Brook House for around six days - despite suffering with suicidal thoughts and medical problems. He said there have been attempts at suicide and self-harm in the centre.
Several individuals also said they were paid £3-£4 a day to do jobs in the centre with one comparing this to “slavery”. Artan said he was paid £3 a day to work as a barber at the centre.
The experiences of those detained at Brook House suggest, despite a BBC investigation in 2017 and a public inquiry set up to investigate the mistreatment of individuals during that period, conditions at the IRC are still worrying.
Artan Koboci was held at Brook House for around five months
The Home Office is responsible for immigration policy in the UK and deals with the immigration or asylum claim for each person detained in Brook House.
One individual, who was held at Brook House for more than five months and wanted to remain anonymous, told The News Movement he attempted suicide in the centre.
He said: “The way they’re dealing with us here, it’s like we’re animals, we’re not human. We are suffering all the time.
“Whatever is happening to me right now, it’s making me feel worse and worse…I nearly killed myself the other day because of the depression they are putting me in.
“I feel like, from my experience, being here for five months, this place is built on racism.”
A report by the government watchdog last year found Brook House did not meet the needs of the high number of detainees with mental health problems from May-June 2022.
It also found approximately 70% of the centre’s mental health team’s posts were vacant at the time.
Dr Rachel Bingham, who has been providing medical support to detained individuals in Brook House for more than 10 years, said: “The overriding concern I have as a doctor about Brook House is how harmful to health and how harmful to mental health it is.
“It’s fair to say most of our clients have observed other people very distressed, very agitated, severe mental health problems, self harm, suicide attempts, so that kind of feeds into an escalating distress for many of our clients.”
Serco - one of the world’s largest providers of public services - has managed Brook House on behalf of the Home Office since May 2020.
They said it has high regard and confidence in its teams at Brook House and believe they perform a challenging role with professionalism and compassion for the people in their care.
People detained at Brook House said they were threatened by detention staff with being put into isolation for ‘complaints’ or asserting their rights.
The separation unit is referred to as ‘the block’ by people held at Brook House.
Stefan Daniel Popa, a 32-year-old immigrant from Romania, is currently detained at Brook House.
He said he served a prison sentence for shoplifting before he was transferred to an immigration detention centre in the UK.
During his time at Brook House, he has been sent to the isolation unit four times - he claims once he was held in isolation for four days.
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He said: “Here, if you ask [them] to give your rights… to close your mind, your mouth, [they] put you [in the] block.”
Artan, who was held in the isolation unit for around six days in Brook House before being transferred to the Harmondsworth IRC, added: “If you have a small problem with them, they put you in the block.”
Serco said Brook House’s care and separation unit is used for the safety and wellbeing of everyone who resides at the centre.
Both Artan Koboci and Stefan Popa said they were held in isolation at Brook House for more than three days because staff suspected they were involved in organising a protest at the centre.
The News Movement has seen a Serco report which confirms Artan was placed into isolation for reports he was involved in a protest - both Artan and Stefan deny these claims.
During his six days in isolation, Artan said he did not eat for four days due to a medical problem and ‘bleeding’ from his mouth. He claims he was not given enough medical support for his issues.
In response to claims made by Artan, Serco said he would have been seen everyday by the healthcare team at Brook House whilst he was held in isolation.
Serco added Artan did not express suicidal thoughts to their staff at any point during his time in isolation and has never complained about his treatment by their staff.
Stefan Daniel Popa, 32, is currently detained at Brook House
One individual who was detained at Brook House also described the reasons why people may be placed in the isolation unit.
He said: “If you start speaking badly of officers, if you get angry, start shouting at people, they take you to the block.
“If you complain about anything they don’t like... they don’t like the complaint you’re making… they’ll just take you to the block.”
Serco said the suggestion that people could be sent to the isolation unit for complaining about the conditions inside Brook House is untrue.
Dr Rachel Bingham, who is a clinical advisor with the charity Medical Justice and has given evidence to the Brook House Inquiry, said people with mental health conditions are treated as people with “difficult behaviours to manage” at the centre.
She added: “From my experience, in the majority of cases, if somebody has significant mental health issues, or if they have a history of trauma or difficult experiences in the past, then the environment is even more harmful to them.”
The report by the government watchdog last year found the separation unit had been used to hold a number of detainees with poor mental health, which was an unsuitable place for them.
Two individuals currently detained at Brook House claimed they had to apologise to detention staff for their behaviour or would face being held in the isolation unit for a longer period.
Stefan said: “Brook House is like a prison.. And if you don’t say ‘I’m sorry’... they [are] not going to take you outside from the block.”
Serco denied claims that detained people must apologise to staff in order to be released from isolation. They said people will only remain in isolation if they continue to pose a credible threat to the safety or security of the centre.
The public services provider added the Home Office must authorise the use of the separation unit and this is only given when there is a risk to safety or security.
Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, near Gatwick Airport
Thousands of people are held at IRCs every year in the UK as they await a Home Office decision on whether they have permission to stay in the UK or face being removed from the country.
Some of the people The News Movement spoke to said they did not know when they would be deported from the UK or be released from Brook House.
The report by the Inspector of Prisons last year found five cases where people had been held in different places of detention for over 1,000 days which was “unacceptably long”.
The Home Office is responsible for determining the length of detention in immigration removal centres.
Stefan, who wants to return to his home country, is due to be deported to Romania later this month.
He said: “It’s strange. People who have family here, who have 24 years in this country, [they] try to send [them] home as soon as possible.
“People who want to [go home] as soon as possible in [their] country, [they] keep [them] here for a long time.”
Another said: “Every morning you wake up hoping [you will be released] but it’s not. You don’t know what’s going on, that’s our main issue.
“Personally I can talk for myself and my friend, I’ve been here over three months now, I ain’t got a clue what’s going on.”
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Stefan told The News Movement he wants to return to Romania
The Home Office told The News Movement detention in Brook House must only be for the shortest period necessary and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
Slow case progression, delays in obtaining travel documents, and a lack of suitable bail accommodation contributed to lengthy detention, a report released last year found.
The News Movement contacted the Home Office for a response to the claims and a spokesperson said: “ We take the welfare and safety of people in our care very seriously.
“We will accept nothing but the highest standards from service providers.”
The Home Office said they have “dedicated welfare teams across all sites who can escalate any instances of mental health or illness. Our staff are rigorously trained to ensure the safety of residents, including on the appropriate use of separation.”
The Home Office said incidents of self-harm are treated very seriously, and every step is taken to try and prevent incidents of this nature.
In addition, they said separation must only be used as a measure of last resort and IRC suppliers are required to follow Home Office guidance.
In response to claims detained people were being paid £3-£4 a day to do jobs in the centre, the Home Office said paid activities are offered in IRCs to meet the recreational and intellectual needs of people held at Brook House and it is not a substitute for the work of trained staff.
The Home Office and Serco said participating in paid activities is also entirely voluntary.
The Home Office is responsible for immigration, policing and security in the UK Credit: Getty
The News Movement also contacted Serco for a response to the claims.
A Serco spokesman said: “We have fully examined the claims that have been made and we have not been given any evidence that any of our employees has done anything wrong or behaved in an inappropriate way.
“To the contrary, we are confident that there is an outstanding Serco team at Gatwick Immigration Removal Centre who do a challenging job with professionalism and compassion. The people in our care are at a difficult time of their lives and their safety and wellbeing is always our primary concern.”
Healthcare at Brook House is contracted to NHS England, which has been subcontracted to the medical firm Practice Plus Group.
Serco and Practice Plus Group made clear immigration policy, the length of stay and individual asylum cases are all determined by the Home Office.
A spokesperson for Practice Plus Group said: “Patients at Brook House have access to healthcare professionals including GPs, psychiatrists, nurses, and mental health nurses, as well as interpreters, help with completing appointment booking forms, and the option to walk into the healthcare department.
“We take our role - which is to provide healthcare to this vulnerable population of patients, many of whom have previously experienced persecution and mental health difficulties - extremely seriously.”
Practice Plus Group added that it has made “significant progress” in introducing improvements for patients which was recognised in a recent inspection report from the Care Quality Commission.
NHS England did not provide a comment.
Brook House is located next to Gatwick Airport Credit: Getty
TNM also contacted the security firm, G4S, which ran the Brook House detention centre from 2009 to May 2020.
During this time, a BBC Panorama investigation found instances of abuse and mistreatment at the centre in 2017.
The investigation prompted a public inquiry and a report into the inquiry’s findings is expected later this year.
G4S said a number of employees behaved in an entirely unacceptable way and swift action was taken to suspend them and investigate. The firm added the vast majority of staff at Brook House carried out their roles to a high standard and to the best of their ability, often in challenging circumstances.
G4S said they introduced real and profound change at Brook House, including a new director and improved staffing levels and training, which were acknowledged in an official inspection.
A 2019 prisons inspection report stated: “It is to the credit of the leadership and staff that they have been determined to prevent any recurrence of poor behaviour or abuse, and to inject an appropriately respectful culture into the centre.”
The security firm said it fully supports the Brook House Inquiry and will play an active role in helping to address its aims.
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