Minister announces end to Dungavel child detention

• It will be announced today that, with immediate effect, Dungavel will no longer be used to hold children. Picture: Getty Images

In the face of growing criticism from campaigners and politicians, immigration minister Damian Green will give a guarantee that no further children will be detained there.

The Home Office announcement follows news that a woman and her eight-month-old baby had been locked up in the Lanarkshire centre, despite a pledge by the new administration to abandon the policy.

Last week, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott even boasted that his party at Westminster had ended the "shameful" practice of locking up young children at Dungavel.

However, it then emerged Sehar Shebaz, from Pakistan, and her baby daughter had been detained in Glasgow at 1:30pm on Monday and taken to Dungavel.

Scottish education secretary Mike Russell spoke to Home Secretary Theresa May and wrote to the Home Office, demanding to know if the coalition government planned to live up to its promise. Scottish children's commissioner Tam Baillie also urged the authorities to "work swiftly to release the child and mother".

The Scotsman understands Mr Green will say: "I am announcing that, with immediate effect, children will no longer be detained overnight at Dungavel immigration removal centre.

"This is something which many groups in Scotland have been calling for, and we are now delivering this positive outcome.

"We are committed to ending the detention of all children for immigration purposes. I hope that we can have plans agreed within the next few months.

"I have already announced the launch of a comprehensive review of alternatives to child detention, including opening a dialogue with relevant stakeholders, organisations and experts. This work has now started, because it is in all our interests, including those children currently in detention, to do it quickly, but to also do it well and safely."

The previous Labour government had opposed ending child detention in Dungavel, despite criticism from the Scottish Government and campaigners.

The coalition deal between the Tories and Liberal Democrats included a commitment to end the detention of asylum-seeking children in the UK. But, until today, it had been unclear how quickly the policy would be implemented.

The Unity Centre in Glasgow, which offers support and advice to asylum seekers, said Ms Shebaz had been in the UK for three years. It is understood the family will today be taken to the Yarl's Wood removal centre, in Bedfordshire – it has specialist family and child facilities and support services.

The practice of locking up children in "prison conditions" at Dungavel has been hugely controversial. Former immigration minister Phil Woolas sparked criticism when he said families and children had to be locked up in Dungavel or we would "end up with dead bodies in lorries in Calais" by boosting the human trafficking trade.

Last year's case of ten-year-old Precious Mhango and her mother Florence, who were locked up in Dungavel and later transferred to Yarl's Wood, sparked outrage and increased pressure on the government to end child detention there.

A high-profile campaign was launched to try to stop the pair being deported to Malawi. They were eventually released just before Christmas.

Precious, who lost about 10lb during her incarceration, wrote a three-page story highlighting her experiences in custody. She called it "Detention Day (D-Day)" and wrote: "It (Dungavel] is a horrible place. No friends, no good fun and no smiles from my mum."

She added: "I lost hope that we were going to go back to Glasgow. There was no more happiness in my life. I never stopped praying."

On her return to Glasgow, she wrote: "I am so scared of the Home Office. I feel like I'm living in the darkness, I don't know when I'm going to see the light."

In March, five-year-old twins Joshua and Joel Ovranah were pictured being escorted to Dungavel in their school uniforms. They were detained along with their mother, Stephanie Ovranah, who had arrived in the UK in 2006 after fleeing domestic violence at the hands of her partner and his mother in Nigeria.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Mr Russell wanted clarity as to whether the UK government intended to uphold the commitment to end the disgraceful practice of detaining children, effectively in prison conditions, in Dungavel.

"We were very supportive of the announcement last week, but concerned when it appeared to be the case there would be a review, which could take a number of months, and in the meantime children would continue to be held there.

"If it is now definitely the case that children will no longer be taken to Dungavel, with immediate effect, then the Scottish Government would welcome that."

Families detained in Scotland may still undergo initial health and welfare screening at Dungavel before being moved to Yarl's Wood, but they will not be detained overnight.

A review of alternatives to detention for children of failed asylum families was announced by Mr Green last week. A range of groups, organisations and experts will be invited to participate.

The UK government said its Border Agency was already working with the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, and the voluntary sector to establish alternatives to detention.

Last week, Mr Scott told MSPs: "Now the UK government policy is changing and children are no longer to be detained behind razor wire at Dungavel, Liberal Democrats in government having made that happen.

"We saw reports of six-year-old children taken in school uniforms to Dungavel. Wasn't that a shameful end to a Labour government."