Manston Inquiry

Ongoing
Chair Sophie Cartwright Legal professional (non-judge)
Established 12 Feb 2025
Commissioned by Home Office

Non-statutory Article 3 ECHR independent inquiry into conditions and treatment of detainees at Manston Short-Term Holding Facility between 1 June and 22 November 2022, when the facility held approximately 4,000 people against a capacity of 1,600. Hussein Haseeb Ahmed died after contracting diphtheria while detained. Commenced 17 March 2025; first public hearing held 15 January 2026. Potential witnesses include former PMs Johnson and Sunak.

Live tracking hearings, witnesses and documents synced daily from the inquiry website Open live tracker Search evidence
1 year, 5 months Duration (ongoing)
4 statements since Feb 2025
Written Ministerial Statement Manston Inquiry Terms of Reference
Alex Norris (Labour)
18 Dec 2025
Written Ministerial Statement Manston Inquiry Terms of Reference
Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour)
18 Dec 2025
Written Ministerial Statement Manston Inquiry
Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour)
12 Feb 2025
Written Ministerial Statement Manston Inquiry
Dame Angela Eagle (Labour)
12 Feb 2025
12 Feb 2025
Inquiry established

The Home Office announced a non-statutory inquiry, under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, into the conditions and treatment of people detained at the Manston Short-Term Holding Facility between 1 June and 22 November 2022.

Source
12 Feb 2025
Chair named

Sophie Cartwright KC was named as Chair of the Inquiry.

Source
12 Feb 2025
Terms of Reference published

The Inquiry's original Terms of Reference were published.

Source
17 Mar 2025
Inquiry commenced

The Inquiry formally commenced its work.

Source
18 Dec 2025
Terms of Reference expanded

The Terms of Reference were expanded to include how, and in what circumstances, a man detained at Manston came by his death in November 2022.

Source
15 Jan 2026
First preliminary hearing

The Inquiry held its first preliminary hearing.

Source