Luton airport slammed after children held for over 12 hours in 'grubby' detention centre, report finds

Luton airport has been slammed by the chief prisons inspector after a report into its immigration detention centre deemed it “unable to cope” with pressures.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, published the damning report into the airport this week.

An airport spokesman has said upgrade and expansion plans are in the hands of the Ministry of Justice – but that it “remains ready” to move forward with them.

The report stated: “The busiest detention facility was now at Luton, which received more detainees than even the Heathrow sites, partly because of the high number of flights going to and from Eastern Europe.

“The most urgent challenge for the Home Office is to find a solution for the unacceptable conditions at Luton.”

The holding rooms were described as “grubby and crowded” and Luton was “unable to provide decent conditions for the number of detainees it held”.

Concerns were raised about the safety of children held at Luton. The inspector said: “We were particularly concerned to find that children were placed in crowded holding rooms with unrelated adults.”

Due to the number of people held at the airport, staff “were often too busy to supervise detainees appropriately”. Between June and November last year, the airport had 2,898 detainees, compared with Stansted with less than half, at 1,210.

Luton’s holding rooms were described as “small and grubby”, with damaged seating and flooring. Detainees said they were frustrated and upset at the poor conditions. The inspector said: “They included two men who had been in detention overnight, one for nearly 24 hours, in a cramped environment where body odours intermingled with food smells, to create an unpleasant and oppressive environment.

“Nearly 3,000 people had passed through the main and family holding rooms at Luton in the previous six months.”

The detention facility is managed by Mitie Care and Custody, and overseen by the Home Office.

Responding to the report, a London Luton Airport spokesperson said: “The requirement to upgrade and expand the existing custody facility was first discussed in 2023. We continue to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and remain ready to move forward with the project when they are in a position to do so".