Manston was at risk of becoming an unofficial detention centre, minister says

Grant Shapps has said the Manston asylum processing tract was "tipping into becoming an unofficial detention centre" erstwhile helium concisely served arsenic location caput past month.

He told BBC Breakfast helium received "very clear" proposal erstwhile helium took implicit from Suella Braverman aft she resigned.

Mr Shapps said determination were concerns radical were "unintentionally being detained", which would not beryllium legal.

The authorities has been criticised for terrible overcrowding astatine Manston.

Ms Braverman, who was reappointed arsenic location caput by Rishi Sunak, has denied ignoring ineligible proposal oregon blocking the usage of hotels to easiness the unit astatine the tract successful Kent.

At 1 constituent astatine the extremity of past period determination were believed to beryllium astir 4,000 migrants astatine Manston - contempt the centre being designed to accommodate lone 1,600 radical connected a impermanent basis.

BBC governmental analogous Nick Eardley said Mr Shapps's comments "potentially unfastened up a caller tin of worms" for Ms Braverman arsenic they marque an "implicit accusation" that she did not bash everything she could person done to determination radical to alternate accommodation and guarantee the authorities was complying with the law.

Mr Shapps, who is present concern secretary, served arsenic location caput for six days aft the resignation of Ms Braverman implicit information breaches successful the last days of Liz Truss's premiership.

He told BBC Breakfast that, during his clip astatine the Home Office, "what I saw was a concern whereby a centre that was acceptable up to beryllium a processing centre... was tipping into becoming an unofficial detention centre".

He said helium was keen to guarantee the authorities remained wrong the instrumentality and made changes to the cognition of the tract "to guarantee that it wasn't a detention centre", portion besides moving radical out.

He added: "Those are decisions that I precise rapidly made. Actually, the location caput subsequently has continued to marque the aforesaid changes to marque definite that those numbers are brought down."

The erstwhile RAF basal was acceptable up arsenic a short-term holding site, with nary overnight accommodation, meaning officials tin not usually support anyone determination beyond 24 hours.

The authorities has blamed the ample fig of radical crossing the English Channel successful tiny boats for the unit connected the asylum system.

So acold this year, astir 40,000 radical person made the unsafe travel - the highest fig since figures began to beryllium collected successful 2018.

The contented volition beryllium discussed by Prime Minister Mr Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron erstwhile they conscionable astatine the COP27 clime acme successful Egypt.

"The much that we tin enactment with our partners successful France the better," Mr Shapps said, adding that reducing the numbers leaving France to transverse the Channel would "relieve the pressures connected our shores".