REFUGEE families are being detained in tents with young children sleeping on mats on the floor for up to a month at an overcrowded holding centre in Kent, an inspector has revealed. 

Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration David Neal told MPs he was left “speechless” after visiting Manston on Monday, where 2,800 people are being held at a site designed to accommodate just 1,600. 

The former airbase near Ramsgate was opened as a short-term holding facility by the Home Office in February to accommodate new small boat arrivals for a 24-hour period before being moved on to hotels or detention centres. 

However, MPs heard on Wednesday that potentially hundreds of people were being held there for weeks at a time, with many accommodated in marquees without proper sleeping or cooking facilities. 

Mr Neal told the Commons home affairs select committee he had met an Afghan family with young children during his visit who had been held in a marquee for 32 days. 

Despite the temperature getting colder, he said the family were sleeping on kit mats on the floor with only blankets to keep them warm. 

Mr Neal said he had also met an Iraqi and Syrian family who had been held there for two weeks.

Of the Syrian family he said: “The mother … was terribly distressed because she didn’t know where they were going. So [these are] pretty, pretty wretched conditions.”

The inspector said he was left speechless after learning that the huge population is being guarded by a small number of non-trained officials, adding that he has written to the Home Secretary and HMI Prisons alerting them of the situation. 

Asked by committee chairwoman Diana Johnson at what point the facility would cease being safe for detainees, Mr Neal replied: “We’ve passed that point.”

“There are risks there in terms of fire, disorder, medical issues and infection … there are 2,500 people not guarded by appropriately trained people,” he added.

“That is an extraordinary number. There’s no prison in the country that’s that big.”

Earlier in the session, MPs also raised concerns about reports of an outbreak of diphtheria at the site and violence. 

Clandestine Channel threat commander Dan O’Mahoney confirmed that a “very small” number of cases of diptheria have been recorded at the site. 

The minister said overcrowding at Manston was due to a “supply challenge” of appropriate hotels to move asylum-seekers into.

“We are trying to increase the amount of accommodation [to move people to], that is our main priority to solve the problem,” he added.

MPs also heard that just 4 per cent of asylum claims made by small boat arrivals in 2021 have been processed, but of those 85 per cent were granted refugee status. 

Ms Johnson highlighted that the high acceptance rate was at odds with the government’s claims that “80-90 per cent of people coming across were economic migrants.” 

Mr O’Mahoney also repeated claims by Home Secretary Suella Braverman that people are “gaming” the modern slavery system for immigration reasons, particularly Albanian nationals crossing the Channel.However when pressed by MPs to provide evidence of false claims of trafficking, Home Office officials failed to disclose any figures.

In fact, figures disclosed earlier to the committee by Dan Hobbs, the Home Office’s director of asylum, protection and enforcement, appeared to show that the vast majority of people making trafficking claims went on to be identified as victims.Nine in 10 Albanian nationals referred to the government’s national referral mechanism (NRM) receive a positive decision by the Home Office, he said.

Grilled on the contrast between the government’s rhetoric on false trafficking claims and official figures, Mr Hobbs went on to suggest that Albanian nationals should apply for support in their own country, rather than seek help in the UK.

“Albania is a member and a signatory to the European Convention Against Trafficking and just as British victims in the UK access our system, Albanian nationals should not be using people smugglers to get to the UK to seek protection under the NRM that is available to them in Albania,” he said.

But anti-slavery campaigners told the Morning Star that the Home Office official's comments “show an alarming misunderstanding of the context in which Albanians are trafficked into the UK, and of the very functioning of the UK’s National Referral Mechanism.”

Anti-Slavery International UK and Europe advocacy manager Jamie Fookes added: “We are very concerned that the Home Office has again made dangerous claims about alleged abuse in the system set up to protect victims of modern slavery in the UK, without providing any evidence.“We urge the Home Office to prioritise the much-needed support to the thousands of victims of modern slavery in the UK.”