The Church of England is calling on the UK government to end
the indefinite detention of detainees in immigration removal centres. According
to the Church of England, it places “considerable stress on detainees and their
families.”
The Church will be contending with UK politicians, whom many
in the seniority had considered the issue a “political football.”
Bishop of Croydon Jonathan Clark said “The main political
parties have taken a judgment that they cannot say anything on this issue
because they feel it will lose them votes by the million, so it has been left
to those who don’t seek re-election to speak out.”
They also said that the HM Inspectorate of Prisons no longer
carries out a “safety survey” among its inmates. The inspectorate said that
detainees had felt unsafe following the use of indefinite detention.
The Church made a comparison between asylum and prison
detention. The official statement said “We normally think of safety in
detention as a matter of not fearing assault, intimidation, discrimination, However, what
detainees consistently reported as most likely to make them feel unsafe was the
lack of certainty about their case.”
According to a Home Office spokesperson, “Detention is used
as a last resort when people are found not to have a right to be in the UK and
will not leave voluntarily, or when there is a serious risk they will abscond
from bail. When we do detain people, it is for the minimum time possible, and
the majority of detainees are held for less than two months. Detainees’ welfare
is extremely important and we are committed to treating all those in our care
with dignity and respect.”
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