Channel Migrants: Manston processing centre criticism prompts minister's visit

The Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, has said he intends to visit the Home Office facility at Manston in Kent "as soon as possible" following criticism of conditions there.

On Wednesday, Independent Inspector of Borders David Neal told MPs the situation at the centre was "wretched".

Mr Jenrick told the Commons the large numbers crossing the Channel were putting the facility under pressure.

He also promised more was being done to clear the backlog of asylum claims.

Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Jenrick said Manston was a short-term holding facility, with migrants only supposed to be there for a few hours, but the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats had put "an unprecedented strain" on the asylum system.

Manston was designed to process up to 1,000 people at a time but the Home Affairs Committee was told there are currently 2,600 people housed at the former Royal Air Force base, including a "small number" of children.

Speaking to the committee, Mr Neal said he had been left speechless by the "really dangerous" situation he found at the centre when he visited on Monday.

Mr Neal said he met families who had been there for weeks, including a family from Afghanistan who had been sleeping on mats on the floor of a temporary marquee for 32 days.

The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, criticised the government's "disastrous handling of cross Channel crossings".

She suggested instead of "unworkable gimmicks" like the policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, the Home Office should spend the money on pursuing people traffickers and improving the asylum system.

Mr Jenrick said the number of Home Office staff now assigned to processing asylum claims had been increased to 1,000 and he was reviewing the backlog and looking at ways to improve productivity.

Tory backbencher Lee Anderson said he was "struggling to look my constituents in the eye" when asked about the almost £6m a day spent on keeping asylum seekers in hotels.

Mr Jenrick said it was "quite wrong" that British taxpayers were footing the bill for the accommodation.

The minister also said he intends to meet with officials in France to try and prevent more of the migrants from boarding small boats and heading for the Kent coast.

"I intend to have the most constructive approach possible with our friends in France," he said.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].