Inspectors criticise 'filthy' and 'run-down' Penally asylum seeker camp

  • ITV Wales journalist Jess Main reports from Penally

A report has found "fundamental failures" in the housing of asylum seekers at a former military base in Pembrokeshire.

Barracks in Penally have been used by the Home Office to accommodate people seeking asylum in the UK since September last year.

The inspections, which also looked at housing in Kent, found that both camps were "impoverished, run-down and unsuitable for long-term accommodation".

At one point, 171 asylum seekers were being housed in Penally, which made the site "cramped" and "effective social distancing difficult".

The report said some areas were "filthy", and that the vast majority of people in Penally said they had felt depressed at some points.

Inspectors said: "They had little to do to fill their time, a lack of privacy, a lack of control over their day-to-day lives, and limited information about what would happen to them.

"These factors have had a corrosive effect on residents' morale and mental health."

The report said cleanliness at both sites was variable at best and cleaning was made difficult by the age of the buildings. Credit: Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

The Home Office has faced repeated criticism over its use of Penally Camp and Napier Barracks in Folkestone to accommodate asylum seekers.

However, Home Secretary Priti Patel and immigration minister Chris Philp have both previously defended the use of such sites.

On Monday evening, the department repeated its assertion that "it is wrong to say it is not adequate for asylum seekers".

The findings were published on the same day 115 people, including women and children, were brought ashore in Dover after crossing the Channel - the most of any day this year.

Residents at the camp said they had felt intimidated by protests. Credit: Pembrokeshire Herald

Residents at both locations reported being shouted at and intimidated by protesters and members of the public.

Health concerns over Covid-19 were also addressed, particularly around warnings from Public Health England and Public Health Wales.

The Home Office gave its accommodation contractors less than two weeks to make each site operational.

Responding to the inspectors' comments, the Home Office said it had told the provider that runs the sites to put in place a robust plan to improve the services, and improvements were being made.

The report found some areas of the camp were "filthy". Credit: Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts MP said the report shows the Home Office's "disregard for human health and dignity" and called for the camp to be closed "without delay".

She added that Priti Patel should "consider her position" over its findings.

Naomi Phillips, director of policy and advocacy at British Red Cross, said: "These sites are completely inappropriate and inhumane as housing for people fleeing war, persecution and violence.

"The people we've spoken to in Penally have told us that they didn't receive health screenings, were given little or no information about what was happening to them, and simply do not feel safe in the barracks."