In response to the High Court judgement today regarding the legality of Oakington detention centre, Nick Hardwick, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council said:

Refugee Council press release

"The fundamental principle at stake here is whether it is right to detain people who have committed no crime. We have always maintained that locking up innocent men, women and children is unacceptable. Many asylum seekers are fleeing torture, arbitrary imprisonment and have witnessed terrible atrocities.

"However, all asylum seekers in Oakington have access to good legal advice and independent welfare services, unlike other detainees and many of those dispersed around the country. The Government must draw from this experience to ensure that all asylum seekers can access these essential services and have a fair hearing on their asylum claim.

"In the broader context of how detention is being used, the UK already had the worst record across Europe for detaining asylum seekers before this Government came to power. Since then, the figures of those being detained have more than doubled with over 65% being forced into prison regimes. They are held for an indefinite period of time with no information on how long this might last and are denied written explanations of why they are being detained.

"We call for the immediate implementation of the bail provisions of the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act which has been repeatedly postponed and remains one of the few parts of the act not yet enforced."

ENDS