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The Home Office has upgraded its inquiry into the former Manston House asylum seeker holding centre in Kent, which was closed in late 2022 after descending into crisis due to severe overcrowding and squalid conditions.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors was instructed by the PCS Union (the civil servants’ union), a charity, and a woman who had been detained at the centre for 21 days. Their legal challenge played a pivotal role in the centre’s closure and in securing a commitment to an Article 3-compliant investigation.

The Short Term Holding Facility near Ramsgate was designed to hold approximately 1,600 detainees for periods of up to 24 hours. However, by November 2022, up to 4,000 asylum seekers were being held at any one time, with around 18,000 individuals detained for over 24 hours. The longest recorded detention was an alarming 32 days.

Former detainees and inspectors described appalling conditions during the crisis, including families with children sleeping on filthy marquee floors, outbreaks of infectious diseases, and reports of overcrowding and violence. Despite the desperate situation, detainees lacked systematic access to legal advice. Shockingly, only one detainee out of the thousands held during this period was referred to legal representation—and that was with Duncan Lewis Solicitors.

Duncan Lewis warned the then Home Secretary of its intention to imminently bring proceedings to challenge human rights breaches and widespread unlawful detention at Manston. The facility was temporarily closed on 22 November 2022 following these interventions.

In the wake of the closure, 16 former Manston detainees, represented by Duncan Lewis and Wilson LLP, launched a legal challenge against the Home Office’s failure to establish an inquiry into the serious events that occurred at the facility.

One week before the High Court hearing, the Home Office agreed to conduct an independent inquiry. On 15 January 2025, the Secretary of State confirmed that the inquiry’s independent chair would be provided with the resources and powers necessary to comply with the UK’s obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhumane or degrading treatment.

This outcome ensures that former detainees will have access to funded legal representation and that their voices will be heard as part of a comprehensive investigation into the systemic failings at Manston. The settlement is a significant victory for accountability and reinforces the importance of legal challenges in safeguarding fundamental human rights. 

Lewis Kett, a solicitor in Duncan Lewis’s public law team, said: “The inquiry will be vital to ensure that lessons are learned and any repetition of the crisis avoided.  The 96 former Manston detainees that my firm now represents will be relieved to hear of the plans for the coming inquiry and hopeful of seeing the truth established.”

The claimants were represented by Lewis Kett, Katie Nelson, Elizabeth Cole and Hannah Jandu, of Duncan Lewis’ Public Law Team. They instructed Laura Dubinsky KC and Sam Jacobs, of Doughty Street Chambers, and Jesse Nicholls and Anirudh Mathur, of Matrix Chambers.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis has the leading public law and immigration practice in the UK. The team frequently takes on and successfully brings challenges in some of the most high profile cases in the UK, including in relation to the Rwanda plan and Manston House. The company was crowned Law Firm of the Year 2024 at the LexisNexis awards, and noted for its commitment to providing justice for all.

Duncan Lewis is renowned for its exceptional legal services and commitment to justice. The company employs a team of highly skilled solicitors offering top-tier representation in 25 fields of law, and ranked as top tier by the Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 legal guides, and as one of the top 250 law firms in the country by the Times.