Albanians who volunteered to be repatriated under a fast-track deportation deal are being unnecessarily detained for weeks at taxpayers’ expense, the prison watchdog has revealed.
HM’s Chief Inspector of Prisons revealed that staff did not know about the vulnerabilities of detainees held in deportation centers before being sent to Tirana, and some were not given privacy when using the toilet, writes The Guardian .
The Home Office signed a “historic joint communication” with Albania in December 2022 to speed up the removal of Albanian nationals it says are in the UK illegally.
This followed an increase in the number of Albanians crossing the Channel. In 2022, they accounted for more than a quarter of the 45,774 who arrived in the UK in small boats.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, said that “inspectors found that many Albanian prisoners were waiting in custody for several weeks despite being ready to go, and the sharing of information about vulnerability was not good enough.”
The findings were based on an inspection in December that looked into the removal of 73 Albanian detainees who were sent from London to Tirana, 50 of whom were returning voluntarily.
They were transported with 129 accompanying staff, two paramedics and two interpreters and had traveled from immigration removal centers (IRCs) at Brook House, Colnbrook, Harmondsworth, Tinsley House and Yarl’s Wood, as well as the short-term residential detention facility at Swinderby, in Lincolnshire.
Most of those arrested told inspectors that they had not consulted a lawyer, having opted for a voluntary return.
“Some were frustrated that they had to wait in detention for more than a month before a flight could be arranged, despite agreeing to leave at the earliest stage,” the report said.
Inspectors found that information about vulnerability and risk was not consistently recorded and was not always clearly communicated to escort staff or paramedics.
“Staff were generally unaware of adults identified at risk… Recording of risk and health information in personal attendance records was often poor ,” the inspectors wrote.
Complaints were made that detainees were not allowed to use the toilet without being observed.
Some Albanian criminals are released from prison a year early and given £1,500 if they agree to be deported.