The Home Office is facing open revolt at its
notorious Harmondsworth detention centre, after more than 100 detainees staged
a hunger strike in protest against rules that leave them locked up while their
asylum applications are processed.
The privately run centre near Heathrow airport in
west London, which holds 615 people, has faced repeated criticism about poor
treatment of detainees, with a recent inspection report highlighting “shocking
cases where a sense of humanity was lost”.
On Friday more than 100 detainees co-ordinated to
stage a demonstration inside the facility’s central courtyard, threatening to
starve themselves amid growing anger about the application of the Government’s
fast-track asylum rules.
