Manston processing centre empty after migrants placed in new accommodation

The Manston migrant processing centre, a holding tract for radical who get successful the UK connected tiny boats, is empty, a Home Office root has confirmed.

Thousands of migrants had been placed successful tents astatine the erstwhile subject airfield during the autumn, starring to overcrowding and outbreaks of disease.

Officials said everyone staying astatine the impermanent tract has been placed successful caller accommodation.

It is thought the authorities has bought abstraction successful hotels to easiness the backlog.

The Home Office's efforts person been helped by atrocious upwind successful the English Channel, causing a sustained autumn successful the fig of crossings.

One root said officials were hopeful that the "next fewer weeks look OK".

A root said Manston - which was designed for migrants to beryllium held for a maximum of 24 hours -would beryllium utilized successful aboriginal successful a mode that was "more concern arsenic usual" earlier the congestion started.

A enactment of up to 5 days had been permitted successful exceptional circumstances.

But inspectors recovered families sleeping connected mats successful the marquees for weeks.

Improvement works to the facilities are acceptable to proceed portion determination are less oregon nary radical held astatine the site.

The installation successful Kent has been dogged by contention successful caller weeks, including the decease successful infirmary of a man who was staying there. An probe into his decease has been launched.

It comes connected apical of revelations that the centre was holding up to 4,000 people, astir 3 times its 1,600 idiosyncratic capacity.

There were besides reports of radical being detained determination for up to 3 weeks owed to shortages successful accommodation for them to determination successful to, adjacent though the installation is designed to clasp those who get via tiny boats for astir 24 hours portion they acquisition information and individuality checks.

They are past expected to beryllium moved into the Home Office's asylum accommodation system, which often means a edifice - owed to a shortage of disposable accommodation, specified arsenic designated hostels.

Manston, which is simply a erstwhile subject base, reopened arsenic a migrant processing centre successful February this twelvemonth to code the increasing fig of migrants reaching the UK successful tiny boats. More than 40,000 radical person crossed the Channel successful this mode successful 2022.