PROTESTS have broken out inside an asylum processing centre at Manston where conditions have been described as “catastrophically overcrowded,” unsafe and understaffed.

The Morning Star understands that around 60 men detained at the site in Kent staged a peaceful sit-in outside on Thursday afternoon against being held at the former RAF base for weeks in dire conditions.

Individuals who refused to move some hours later were subjected to use of force by Border Force officials and private security staff, according to the POA union, which represents some staff working at Manston.

The detainees were bundled into vans before being released back into the tents.

POA assistant general secretary Andy Baxter told the Star that the protest was a “further sign of increasing tensions” at the site, where more than 2,500 people are currently being held –— making it the largest single site of detention in Britain.

Although the short-term holding facility is only intended to hold a maximum of 1,600 small boat arrivals for a period of 24 hours before moving them to hotel accommodation, the government admitted earlier this week that some have been held there for up to a month.

Many are accommodated in large marquees, sleeping up to 150 to 160 people on kit mats or even cardboard on the floor, including families and children.

News of the protest comes after the POA likened the situation at Manston to a “pressure cooker” with no release valve, as people were not being moved out to hotel accommodation fast enough.

With the population at the site hitting 3,000 earlier this month, Mr Baxter described Manston as a “humanitarian crisis on British soil.”

“It was the hopelessness of it all, people didn’t seem to know what was happening to them, where they were going,” he said.

During a two-day visit to the site on October 19 and 20, Mr Baxter said there had been 17 cases of use of force in a 24-hour period.

“That’s really high for 24 hours, if it was a prison you’d be thinking there’s obviously something not right here,” he said. “This is not a stable site.”

Mr Baxter also raised concerns about “untrained” private security staff on site. “They are normally the type of people you see staffing pub doors,” he said. “They’ve got some form of security licence but they’re not trained to engage with people to try and de-escalate, they don’t have a legal authority to lay hands on people.”

The union leader said that the alleged involvement of private security staff, who work for private firm Interforce, in using force on protesters on Thursday was a “new development” and could pose legal issues.

It comes after the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Neal warned that conditions at Manston had already passed the point of being safe due to extreme overcrowding and understaffing.

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley said: “We have clients who have been through Manston in recent months and their stories are horrifying.

“Hundreds of people crammed side by side, forced to sleep on the floor in tents with just a single blanket, provided with insufficient food and denied access to appropriate washing facilities.

“That’s what’s happening in Manston, in the UK, under this government, in 2022. It is absolutely disgraceful.”

In a further sign of deteriorating conditions, Mr Baxter claimed another case of diphtheria has now been recorded at the site, allegedly bringing the total number of infections to five.

Medical Justice said reports of another case of the highly contagious disease at Manston “contradicts claims by the government that the spread is being contained.”

“Holding 3,000 people for several weeks increases the risk of the spread of diphtheria and would hamper any attempt to trace all contacts of those infected,” the charity’s policy, research and parliamentary manager Idel Hanley warned.

“The Home Office has created the conditions for a crisis. This is a disgrace that must be urgently addressed.”

Mr Baxter also expressed concern about the safety of staff exposed to other infections reported at the site, with one member believed to have caught scabies. PPE use is now mandatory among staff at the sight.

“Infection control is really really difficult when you have a marquee of 150 people, come night time all bed down on the floor together,” he said.

“It’s a really difficult atmosphere to work in, and the pressure is getting to them.”

Concerns have also been raised about the presence of military personnel on site and the announcement by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick last week that Manston will be put under the control of a British Army general.

Lt General Stuart Skeates, a senior general who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq war, was seconded to the Home Office on October 12 and has been tasked with putting a “command and control structure” in place at Manston.

“I can’t think that we’ve ever had someone from the armed services in charge of a detention site probably since the war,” Mr Baxter said.

The union leader added that he was surprised to see soldiers at Manston during his visit, but said they appeared to only be involved in logistical tasks such as putting up new marquees.

Peace campaigner Symon Hill described the decision to put an army general in charge of an asylum processing site as a “particularly nasty example of everyday militarism.”

The Institute of Race Relations, which authored a report on the militarisation of Britain’s borders, warned that the presence of military personnel at Manston could re-traumatise refugees fleeing war and persecution.

“Whether calculated or just crass, calling in the army rather than taking rapid steps to address a humanitarian crisis of the Home Office’s own making, is the worst possible decision,” a spokesperson from the think tank said. “We should not let this further securitisation of authority pass.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “All onsite staff receive the relevant training required for their roles and all small boats operational activities are risk-assessed and subject to review in the rare instances when incidents do occur. Manston remains well-resourced to ensure the processing of migrants and security of the site.”

Interforce was approached for comment.