Children still being detained at Heathrow

The UK Border Agency is detaining children in degrading and disgraceful conditions at Heathrow Airport, it has been claimed.

Children of all ages are held there for immigration purposes almost every day and sometimes spend the night there, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for the airport said in its annual report.

They are held in small, stuffy rooms which have no natural light, the report said. There is no sleeping accommodation and only hand basins for washing. Children often share space with unrelated adults, it also claimed.

A spokesman said: “The IMB recognises that children cannot always be admitted to the country straight away and are sometimes held for their own protection.

“But it recommends that non-custodial, child-friendly accommodation is provided at Heathrow for families with children as a matter of urgency.”

The IMB members are unpaid volunteers, who visit the airport at least once every week.