The grim state of the nation’s prisons and immigration centres shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone.
It was one of the first big crises identified after Labour got into power, and two years in, it remains at the top of the agenda.
However, a new report from Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) – who keep the prison estate in England and Wales in check – has revealed what really goes on in the facilities.
Each year they pool their findings into a national report. The one released this week covers all of 2025.
As well as prisons, IMBs keep an eye on short-term holding facilities (STHFs) and immigration removal centres (IRCs) operated by the Home Office.
In one eye-catching section of the report, the IMBs raise two occasions in the summer of 2025 when staff at one STHF were spotted wearing England flags on their uniforms.
It says: ‘The Board felt this risked perceptions of bias or even intimidation among detained people, especially in the light of recent anti-immigration protests in which flag displays were prominent.’
The report also alleges several cases in which children – whose ‘detention should be avoided at all costs’ – were detained at Heathrow for almost two weeks due to delays in assessing their age.
Focusing on people held under the ‘one in, one out’ deal with France, the Board at Gatwick IRC found that 20% of those subject to age disputes were assessed to be children – a ‘strikingly high rate that indicates serious safeguarding gaps’.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We do not accept this report’s findings. We accept nothing but the highest standards of safety, welfare provision and staff behaviour for those in our care.
‘This government inherited an under-resourced detention estate from the previous government. Since taking office, we have made significant improvements, including increased staffing levels and refurbishment of our facilities to improve conditions and safeguards.’
For instance, there was a spider infestation at Bullingdon in Oxfordshire that led to two inmates being hospitalised and another being told he could lose his leg.