Man, 26, Dies in Detention at Gatwick’s Brook House Amid Fresh Immigration Scandal
Another Tragedy at Notorious Brook House
A 26-year-old man has died while held at Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport. Operated by Serco for the Home Office, the facility has become a lightning rod for criticism over the treatment of detainees.
The death on Sunday has sparked an outcry from campaigners demanding urgent reform of the UK’s immigration detention system.
Advocates Slam ‘Prison-Like’ Conditions
The Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group condemned the centre, saying: “Brook House is prison architecture and no one should take their last breath there.” Amnesty International UK’s refugee and migrant rights chief, Steve Valdez-Symonds, added: “We despair at reports that yet another person has died in the Brook House detention centre.” He offered condolences to the young man’s family and fellow detainees.
Brook House’s Dark History of Abuse & Deaths
Brook House is no stranger to controversy. A 2017 inquiry revealed 19 incidents of abuse inside the centre. Last November, a 37-year-old Albanian detainee tragically took his own life, and another suffered a serious mental health crisis soon after.
Despite the Home Office promising better safeguards following these incidents, disability rights charity Medical Justice slammed the response. They claimed, “We have seen no improvement in safety” after years of failed reforms.
Calls for Urgent Government Action
Valdez-Symonds urged the government to overhaul the system, stating: “Tragic incidents such as this emphasise why the Government must bring humanity to the immigration system… people’s lives depend on it.”
The Home Office has expressed sympathy for the family of the deceased and says an investigation is underway.
