Prison
Cat IRC Charter Flight
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Charter Flight
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 21 April 2021
The IMB Charter Flight Monitoring Team's 2020 report highlighted grave concerns regarding the inhumane treatment of vulnerable detainees, particularly Dublin Convention returnees who had recently self-harmed, with no health information shared with receiving countries. It noted unacceptably long periods of confinement in vehicles during transfers, lack of privacy during WC use, and inconsistent provision of information and support. The Board welcomed improved HOIE oversight and more consistent information provision by escorts, but reiterated several unaddressed recommendations regarding welfare and procedural fairness.
Positive Findings
The Board noted improvements in HOIE's timely oversight of the escort contractor's performance and more consistent provision of important information to returnees. Escorts generally accorded compliant returnees dignity and respect, showing good interpersonal skills. A new approach with multi-language, personalised information packs was a positive development. Paramedics were professional, empathetic, and proactive in addressing medical needs. Disembarkation and handover to receiving authorities were generally smooth, and interpreters were used effectively at collections.
Key Concerns
Mental Health
Repeated
The inhumane practice of removing vulnerable Dublin Convention returnees who had recently self-harmed, often under restraint.
Healthcare
Absence of a formal process to provide information to receiving authorities about the mental and physical health of vulnerable returnees, potentially putting them at further risk.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Unacceptably long periods of confinement for returnees in vehicles during transfers to airports, exacerbated by the use of distant airports, without adequate warning or consistent access to lavatories.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Lack of professional interpreting services provided to all returnees who need it, at every stage of the removal process on the day, particularly on the tarmac at the airport.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Dublin Convention returnees were ill-prepared and ignorant of what to expect upon arrival in the EU member state.
Safety
Inadequate video coverage of collections and incidents due to single body-worn cameras and gaps in filming on the plane.
Safety
Continued use of IRC areas exposing people to unsafe environments under COVID-19 conditions, particularly confined spaces without screens.
Safety
Use of IRC staff dressed in riot gear when presenting returnees for transfer, which is intimidating.
Safety
Infrequent recording of the reasons for and continuance of restraint in the Person Escort Records (PERs).
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Denial of privacy for returnees when using the WC on coaches or lavatories on planes, due to a blanket ban.
Substance Misuse
Inconsistent offer and availability of nicotine substitutes to returnees, despite escorts being observed smoking in plain view.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The report highlighted concerns regarding staff conduct during removals and COVID-19 compliance. IRC staff sometimes presented detainees in riot gear, which was deemed intimidating. Escort briefings sometimes lacked empathy, and there were inconsistencies in staff wearing masks. However, HOIE's oversight of the escort contractor improved. The CFMT consists of six volunteer Board members, with three prospective members whose external training was impacted by COVID-19.
Healthcare
Healthcare services were provided by IPRS Aeromed, with paramedics demonstrating professionalism and empathy during collections and in addressing medical needs. Despite this, the Board expressed grave concern about the inhumane removal of highly vulnerable Dublin Convention returnees, including those with recent self-harm, without a formal process to inform receiving authorities of their mental and physical health. There was also a perceived lack of supportive interaction from escorts for detainees with Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACDT) plans.
Regime & Daily Life
A significant concern was the unacceptably long periods detainees spent confined in vehicles during transfers to airports, often without warning or consistent access to lavatories, exacerbated by the use of distant airports. Detainees were routinely denied privacy when using WCs on coaches or lavatories on planes due to a blanket ban. Additionally, nicotine substitutes were not consistently offered or available, despite escorts being observed smoking in plain view.
Recommendations (14)
Other: 14
5 repeated
Recommendation 1
It was inhumane to persist in removing people under the Dublin Convention whose vulnerability was patent, as illustrated in this report. In his letter of 25 November 2020, referred to in paragraph 2.1.5, the minister wrote that: ‘detention and removal are essential parts of immigration controls. It is vital that these are carried out with dignity and respect and we take the welfare of the individual in our care very seriously’. The CFMT considers that persisting with these removals was at odds with these standards. Her Majesty’s Government has an opportunity to reassert them in practical ways in any new agreements with countries deemed “safe” which are intended to replicate other aspects of the Dublin Convention.”
Other
(minister)
Welfare
Recommendation 2
If the reality of any such new agreements is that removal from the UK to the ‘safe’ country will be enforced removal, they must contain an express commitment to brief the receiving country on the needs of the returnee – a proper, structured handover of the sort not achieved in 2020, as evidenced in the report.
Other
(minister)
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
In its annual reports for each of 2018 and 2019, the CFMT recommended that use of airports distant from IRCs in the South East be discontinued. This recommendation was rejected both times. It is repeated here. The travelling time to distant airports was a significant contributor to the total period of confinement in vehicles, as evidenced in this report. The welfare of returnees subjected to these journeys did not appear to the CFMT to be a primary consideration.
Other
(minister)
Regime
Recommendation 4
Video coverage of escorts collecting a returnee at the IRC can be inadequate if only one body-worn camera is used. This approach must be reviewed, as must the approach to filming incidents which happen on the plane before take-off or while it is in the air (see paragraphs 3.8.1 and 3.8.6, third bullet).
Other
(hoie)
Safety
Recommendation 5
There must be no continued use of areas in an IRC from which people are collected for charters which expose them, or the escorts or any officials or observers present, to an environment which is unsafe under COVID-19 conditions (see paragraph 3.9.4).
Other
(hoie)
Safety
Recommendation 6
Use of IRC staff dressed in riot gear when they present a returnee for transfer to escorts’ custody must be kept under constant review (see section 3.7).
Other
(hoie)
Safety
Recommendation 7
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
If enforced charter removal to a ‘safe’ country is resumed under, for example, new agreements envisaged in paragraphs 2.3.1 and 2.3.2, these returnees must be told in a language they understand what to expect upon arrival in the ‘safe’ country (see paragraphs 6.1.2 – 6.1.4). The Home Office detainee engagement team (DET) in an IRC should have a role here.
Other
(hoie)
Resettlement
Response
The Home Office cannot accept this recommendation. It is unlikely that member states will agree to set out their intentions about how they intend to handle a person’s case upon their return to the member state.
Recommendation 8
The same team in an IRC must: (1) continue to offer the Charter Flight Information booklet and explain its contents to all returnees in advance of charter removal, using interpreting services where necessary (see paragraph 4.3.4) and (2) distribute all published literature on reintegration support offered in Jamaica, Pakistan and West Africa to returnees to these countries in advance of charter removal (see paragraph 6.2.1).
Other
(hoie)
Information
Recommendation 9
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Professional interpreting services must be provided to all returnees who need it, at every stage of the removal process on the day, including on the tarmac at the airport (see paragraph 4.5.2 and section 4.9).
Other
(hoie)
Equality
Response
accepted, jointly by HOIE and the escort contractor, with a commitment to improve the use of interpreters: ‘particularly at those key junctures identified by the CFMT’.
Recommendation 10
A supply of compression socks must be available on the plane and offered to returnees under the guidance of the paramedics (see paragraph 5.1.1, first bullet).
Other
(hoie)
Healthcare
Recommendation 11
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The person escort record (PER) is intended to be a running log which each escort must maintain for each returnee in his/her care during the removal process. There is a continuing need to demonstrate that information which all returnees are entitled to is given at the right time and recorded in the PER. For example, the offer of access to a lavatory before leaving the IRC, use of the guiding hold, filming, the potential of a pillow or blanket on the plane, the potential of talking to the chief immigration officer (CIO) during the flight (see paragraphs 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.6.2, 4.6.3 and 4.6.5).
Other
(other)
Information
Recommendation 12
Continued use of restraint and the reasons for this were rarely noted in the PER, despite the routine instruction to escorts during the staff muster to record (paragraph 3.8.8). This should be standard practice.
Other
(other)
Safety
Recommendation 13
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Returnees must not be confined in vehicles for hours. The CFMT observed that they were rarely given any hint of the likely timeline. The first and last components of time spent in vehicles (collection and then hanging around at airports) must be better managed, to minimise in-vehicle confinement. The recommendation about coach confinement made in the CFMT’s 2019 annual report was accepted but the CFMT has no evidence of any real change in practice, or knowledge of the outcome of the intended ‘deep dive’ review (see section 4.4).
Other
(other)
Regime
Response
The escort contractor accepted this recommendation. It anticipated carrying out a ‘deep dive’ review. The review had either not started or not been completed by the end of 2020.
Recommendation 14
The escorts must be instructed to explain the contents of the individual information packs to all returnees, with assistance, where needed, from interpreters (see paragraph 4.3.5).
Other
(other)
Information