In its report, Amnesty emphasizes that many of these people are pregnant women, families with children, victims of torture and rape. The British Home Office responded that detention centers are necessary for effective control of the immigration process.
Deputy Minister Tony McNulty said in an interview with BBC that he disagrees with the figures cited by Amnesty International, but acknowledged that people should be placed in these centers for as short a period as possible - regardless of the outcome of their case. As of today, asylum seekers in the United Kingdom can be detained at any time while their application is being considered.
In 1997, the government tripled the number of detention centers for asylum seekers. Ministers believe that the centers help eliminate the possibility of illegally staying in Britain for those whose applications are rejected. However, Amnesty argues that being placed in such a center is a kind of lottery: it depends on the availability of places there, not on whether a particular applicant should be held there. As stated in the human rights organization's report, in some cases people were held in centers for up to two years without any result. Since this did not lead to their deportation from the country, Amnesty International considers such prolonged detention unlawful.
The British government program under which detention centers for political refugees (or those posing as such) were opened has already been repeatedly criticized. Riots occasionally occur in the centers; one was completely destroyed by fire during a riot, and there have been cases of suicide.
A Home Office representative noted that the Amnesty International report will be carefully studied, and the government welcomes the opportunity for a 'constructive discussion' on the problems of granting asylum.