The Manston processing center is designed to accommodate up to 1,600 people for no more than 24 hours – but as of Monday, there were 4,000 on site. Sky News has been told that some migrants are threatening to harm themselves and go on hunger strike, with the unrest “spreading throughout the camp”. And in other developments, new figures suggest 1,322 child asylum seekers have been housed in hotels rather than long-term homes over three months – and 222 of them are missing. Last night, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said “good progress” had been made in easing overcrowding in Manston, with the number of migrants there “reducing significantly”. Mr Jenrick expects more people to move today and said: “Unless we receive an unexpectedly high number of migrants in small boats over the next few days, the numbers will drop significantly this week. “It is imperative that the site returns to a sustainable operating model and we are doing everything we can to ensure this happens quickly.” Local Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale also said “several hundreds” had been relocated, but it was unclear whether they were being taken to hospitals or alternative accommodation. On Monday, Sir Roger had warned that the situation at Manston was a “breach of human conditions” – and with cases of MRSA and diphtheria reported, he described the overcrowding as “completely unacceptable”. The British Red Cross also said: “It is clear that immediate action is needed to ensure that men, women and children who have just made a dangerous and potentially traumatic journey have their basic needs met in a safe environment. “No one should have to experience overcrowding that puts them at risk of illness and possibly being held illegally.” “Unrest spreads throughout the camp” In an exclusive interview, Sky News was told that some migrants inside Manston are threatening to self-harm and go on hunger strike in protest at the detention. The Prison Service Union represents 170 people who work at the site – and assistant general secretary Andy Baxter, who saw the conditions when he visited the center recently, warned that “the unrest is spreading throughout the camp”. Mr Baxter told Sky’s Lisa Holland: “Our members are under threat from people constantly saying ‘What’s wrong with me?’ Where am I going; When will I move on?” “When our members can’t answer them, people start threatening sit-ins, threats of hunger strikes and people threatening to harm themselves.” He said some POA members were concerned about their safety and there had been a few incidents of people making homemade “weapons” out of things like wooden cutlery and toothbrushes. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:41 Migrants “threaten to harm themselves” Warning that there could eventually be a “serious breakdown of public order” in Manston, Mr Baxter added: “So far there have been no incidents of these weapons being used on anyone – it seems to be something people want to carry – but the our members are really worried.” Some of the people held at Manston have been there for weeks as there is no alternative accommodation to take them to and they cannot leave until they have somewhere to go. It’s hard to talk to people inside because they’ve taken their phones out. But the charity Humans for Rights Network shared accounts with Sky News from two asylum seekers who were in Manston around a month ago. They are both 16-year-old teenagers from Sudan, and are now in hotels in London. One said: “I spent 17 days in Manston. I slept on a blanket and they put another blanket over me that didn’t fit and I felt the cold. There were daily fights between people during my stay.” The other said: “There were no beds in the tents, not even chairs. We would put the food boxes on the floor and sleep on them. “I spent the whole time in the clothes I was given when I arrived and they were wet with rainwater. A skin disease spread during my stay and I was afraid of contracting it.” We cannot independently verify these accounts, but Mr Baxter described seeing “large awnings with very poor facilities” – and a lack of beds and furniture. Councils struggling to cope Away from Manston, councils have “significant concerns” about unaccompanied children being sent to live in hotels by the Home Office – with local authorities often not told in advance. More than 1,300 migrant children were placed in hotels this summer – and as of October 19, 222 of those youngsters are missing. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that when a child goes missing from a hotel stay, the Home Office works “very closely with local authorities and the police to operate a robust missing persons protocol”. The Local Government Association is urging the Government to work more closely with councils – and help them support children who come to the UK without parents or guardians. Louise Gittens, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “Councils do not want to see any child placed in a hotel by the government which is completely unsuitable for unaccompanied children. “It is deeply worrying and absurd that these hotels, which were brought in as a short-term emergency measure, remain in use, especially as the number of children disappearing from them continues to rise. “We urgently need a plan to address this crisis and ensure that children can be moved quickly to their permanent locations.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 3:57 Braverman and immigrants controversy explained Braverman criticized Yesterday, peers in the House of Lords criticized Ms Braverman – with Labour’s home affairs spokesman Lord Coker describing the state of asylum processing as a “mess” with “terrible consequences for people”. His Lib Dem counterpart, Lord Paddick, attacked the “dismal track record” in processing claims – as well as the home secretary’s “reckless rhetoric”. But former Brexit secretary Lord Frost defended Ms Braverman and said: “We have seen over the last couple of days what seems to me to be an almost obsessive pursuit of the home secretary tackling a number of extremely difficult substantive problems. “A pursuit based on leaks, anonymous updates, the usual hypersensitivity to words.”
