A vicar is pleading for change in immigration policy after a public inquiry found detainees at an immigration centre were mistreated in “prison-like” conditions.

The Rev Nathan Ward, from St Margaret’s Church, in Rainham, took part in the inquiry into Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) having previously worked there until he left on moral grounds in 2014.

The inquiry report, published today, looked into the practices of the facility near Gatwick Airport between April and August, 2017, after a BBC panorama documentary aired footage of what went on behind its walls.

Mr Ward said: “I left G4S on moral grounds in the sense that you can try and be part of the system and try and make it better but actually I got to a point where being part of it was actually perpetuating that system and because of the government rhetoric that still exists it is actually impossible to do good in those places.

“I felt obliged as someone who witnessed and knows things to act on the good and that's why I have taken the line to be part of this inquiry.

“Things happened that should never happen in the name of our government.

“Physical abuse was being meted out on detainees, some of the most vulnerable detainees in the country, with significant mental health issues.

“We saw healthcare professionals not carrying out their duties and we have seen falsification of paperwork as well.

“All of this is on the backdrop of a government policy that seeks to be a hostile place for immigration.

“If you're arrested by the police they can detain you for up to 72 hours then you have to go to court but at Brook House you can be detained indefinitely.

“The government will say it isn't indefinite but we've got evidence that quite clearly people have been detained for over a year and a half without any knowledge of when that might come to an end.

“I'll be seeking for the government to say we got it wrong, we're sorry, but we are now looking at different models at dealing with this situation which must be dealt with.”

“Under the Home Office and its contractor, G4S, Brook House was not sufficiently decent, secure or caring for detained people or its staff at the time these events took place...”

According to the inquiry’s chairwoman Kate Eves, a total of 19 incidents of mistreatment took place at the detention centre.

She said her 33 recommendations must be implemented “to ensure that other detained people do not suffer in the same way as those at Brook House did”.

The inquiry was launched in 2019, two years after the BBC’s Panorama programme.

Ten members of staff were dismissed or resigned in the wake of the broadcast.

No prosecutions were brought after a police investigation but two former detainees successfully argued a full independent investigation was needed.

G4S has since stopped running Brook House, with Serco having taken over.

The report detailed a “toxic” culture amongst G4S staff who had been running the centre at the time.

Ms Eves said: “Under the Home Office and its contractor, G4S, Brook House was not sufficiently decent, secure or caring for detained people or its staff at the time these events took place.

“An environment flourished in which unacceptable treatment became more likely.”

She said she “rejected the narrative portrayed by both the Home Office and G4S in their evidence that the events at Brook House were primarily the result of a small minority of G4S staff”, saying such a narrative “seeks to distance both organisations from their responsibility for the prevailing culture at the the time”.

She said the government should introduce a time limit of 28 days maximum for a person to be held at an IRC.

The report noted that in July 2017, the average stay at the centre was 44 days, but five people had been there for between one and two years.

Ms Eves referred to one Home Office manager who had told the inquiry that if someone spent more than 24 hours at Brook House “you’re going to develop mental health issues”, adding “it’s not a nice place to be”.

The report also found there was “significant understaffing” and the senior management team was “dysfunctional”.

It was “common” for staff to use “racist and derogatory language” when speaking about detainees and “unacceptable, often abusive behaviour was dismissed as banter”, Ms Eves said.

“Many of the safeguards designed to protect vulnerable detained people failed at Brook House during the relevant period and I remain concerned about how those safeguards are operating currently...”

Evidence of use of dehumanising language included repeated use of the mocking phrase “if he dies, he dies”, Ms Eves said, while there was “considerable evidence” that staff were “too quick to employ force” and that it was at times used to provoke or punish.

Among the 19 incidents of mistreatment, the report cited a “terrifying” moment – which had been part of the Panorama programme – where a detention custody officer put his hands around a detainee’s neck and called him a “***king piece of ****”, adding: “I’m going to put you to ***king sleep”.

Other instances included men being forcibly moved when naked or near-naked, physical violence and staff who initially “stood and looked” at a detainee who had been found unconscious having attempted to self-harm “without trying to help him”.

The chairwoman recommended that “new comprehensive and mandatory rules for how force is used in IRCs is urgently needed”.

Ms Eves called on the Home Office to pay “more than mere lip service” to her findings, noting a “dark thread” running throughout her report of a failure to act on previous recommendations.

Concluding her report, she added: “Many of the safeguards designed to protect vulnerable detained people failed at Brook House during the relevant period and I remain concerned about how those safeguards are operating currently.”

In light of the report, a spokesman for the Home Office said: “The abuse that took place at Brook House in 2017 was unacceptable.

“The government has made significant improvements since then to uphold the welfare and dignity of those detained including strengthening safeguards, promoting a culture of transparency and improving the oversight of contractors’ performance.

“We remain committed to ensuring safety and security in all Immigration Removal Centres and to learn lessons from Brook House to ensure these events never happen again.

“We thank the Chair and Inquiry team for their report and are carefully considering every recommendation.”

Ms Eves has requested that the government responds to her recommendations within six months.