In The Press

Lewis Kett, solicitor in Duncan Lewis’ Immigration and Public Law departments, talks in regards to the treatment his client has sustained whilst detained at Brook House Immigration Detention Centre. Lewis asks for a judicial led inquiry in order to expose the failings of not just the individual detention staff members who have abused detainees, but G4S as the private security firm which runs Brook House and the Home Office for allowing abuse like this to take place. Following September’s panorama investigation into Brook House, the Director Ben Saunders has resigned, but there is still much to be done to protect detainees and hold those responsible for this abuse accountable. It comes at a crucial time when the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has written directly to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, to also call for an independent inquiry into the alleged abuse at the immigration detention centre, on the grounds that it may breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The EHRC's chief executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, said she expected a response to the request within 14 days. Lewis is quoted: “We think an independent and impartial judicial led inquiry is the only way to get to the bottom of what has happened here in terms of not just accountability to individual detention officers, but for the Home Office and G4S for actually allowing this to happen.”