Deportation of Pregnant Mother Abandoned After She Locked Herself in Toilet

New report reveals the woman and her children were released after the incident

A protester communicates with those inside at the perimeter fence of Brook House immigration removal centre beside Gatwick Airport, south of London on June 12, 2022 Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images

The Home Office abandoned plans to deport a pregnant illegal immigrant and her children after she locked herself in the toilet of a detention centre.

The incident—which sparked a crisis meeting between detention centre staff and the Home Office—happened at Tinsley House immigration detention centre earlier this year.

According to a new report (pdf) published this week by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons, the woman and her three children—aged 5, 4, and 2—had been placed in the pre-departure accommodation area of the Gatwick centre.

The report stated that the family were moved to the detention unit after a “previous attempt to remove them direct from the community had failed.”

On arrival at the secure accommodation, the mother declined to take a pregnancy test and was assessed as “fit to fly.”

But while being detained she reported feeling unwell and tested positive for pregnancy.

The report added: “Despite this, the Home Office decided to proceed with removal.

“Attempts to do so were abandoned and the family released when the mother locked herself in a toilet and refused to leave.”

According to the document, it was the first time a family had been housed in the secure unit—mostly used to house Albanian migrants leaving prison—for almost three years.

The family spent almost a week at Tinsley House before being released back into the community.

The report added, “A meeting was convened shortly afterwards to identify lessons from the case.”

72-Hour Limit

It’s not clear at what point during the family’s detention that staff discovered the woman to be pregnant.

Strict legislation introduced in 2016 bars the detention of pregnant women in immigration centres for more than 72 hours.

Last month, the Home Office conceded to peer demands to maintain the 72-hour time limit on the detention of pregnant women in the newly passed Illegal Migration Bill.

Ministers wanted the time limit completely removed, with no exemption for pregnant women.

It was first introduced seven years ago following a report into the welfare of vulnerable people in immigration detention.

The independent review, carried out by former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Sir Stephen Shaw, stated that detention has an “incontrovertibly deleterious effect on the health of pregnant women and their unborn children.”

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott (R) and Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti arrive at the Yarl's Wood Immigration Detention Centre in Bedford, England, on Feb. 23, 2018. Leon Neal/Getty Images

The report (pdf) was commissioned by the home secretary after research in 2013 by the charity Medical Justice found that pregnant women detained in Yarl’s Wood—formerly the UK’s main detention centre for women—often missed antenatal appointments, had no ultrasounds, and did not have direct access to a midwife.

According to the campaign group Women for Refugee Women, the 2016 time-limit led to a dramatic fall in the numbers of pregnant detainees, from 99 in 2014 to just seven in 2021.

In its unannounced inspection of the family accommodation at Tinsely in April, the HM Inspectorate of Prisons found arrangements for children and parents were “appropriate.”

Needs Not Met

The report, published on Monday, highlighted some concerns over the centre’s handling of casework, decision making, and long periods of detention.

It stated that the needs of those leaving the centre were “not always met” with delays in securing bail accommodation.

Most assessments of potential torture survivors were found to contain insufficient detail, some reporting was vague, and most made no clear finding on the likely impact of detention on detainees’ health.

The inspection also found that IT problems meant staff could not access a reliable report of detainees assessed to be at risk in any immigration removal centre.

However, the centre had mostly improved from a previous unannounced visit in 2018.

The report stated: “We found a safe and respectful centre, where violence was rare, and when it did occur, was not often serious.

“Facilities and access to services were generally satisfactory and mainly predicated on respectful staff-detainee relationships, reflecting a positive institutional culture.

“Leadership was strong and provided good direction.”

Border Force officials guide a pregnant lady ahead of other newly arrived illegal immigrants to a holding facility after being picked up in a dinghy in the English Channel in Dover, England, on June 9, 2021. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Albanian Prisoners

Tinsley House has the capacity to hold 162 men and a suite to accommodate families denied entry to the UK, as well as a pre-departure accommodation facility for up to two families.

There is also a “borders suite” to hold women and families overnight before they are returned to the airport from where they have come.

The centre was used periodically as bail accommodation and as a short-term holding facility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It resumed use as an immigration removal centre in late 2022.

According to the prisons inspectorate, around 40 new detainees were received each month in the previous three months before the April review.

Over half of those held had previously completed a prison sentence and a third of the population were Albanian nationals.

Three detainees had been in immigration detention for longer than one year.