Home Office officials have admitted they lost control of the situation at a Kent immigration processing centre leading to thousands of people being illegally detained, according to court documents.

Asylum seekers were only supposed to be held at the Manston site, near Ramsgate - which processed new arrivals who entered the UK by boat crossing the Channel - for no more than 24 hours.

However, last week the government disclosed documents to the High Court revealing that 18,000 people were detained between June and November 2022 for longer than that, The Observer reported.

The newspaper also revealed that reports showed staff had no reliable data about the centre between September and November 2022 and had “completely lost [their] grip on it”.

The government had previously said it would hold a statutory inquiry into the situation at Manston but the Home Office has since downgraded it to an independent investigation.

A legal challenge against the decision was launched in the High Court where the government revealed the scale of shortcomings in 2022.

The Manston immigration processing centre made headlines in 2022 amid concerns about overcrowding where it was found it was holding 4,000 people at the 1,600-capacity site.

It was suggested the problem came down to inadequate numbers of hotel rooms being booked up by the Home Office to temporarily home people once they had been processed.

Fingers were pointed at then Home Secretary Suella Braverman who was accused of stopping hotel rooms being booked. She made a visit to the Thanet site at the height of the crisis.

Lawyers representing the asylum seekers said they want to know the truth about what happened, however, the High Court heard it could be difficult as WhatsApp messages have not been preserved, according to The Observer.

It is also claimed the decision led to an outbreak of scabies and diphtheria.

Last year, the centre came under fire again as inspectors found blankets and sodden clothes were being stuffed into gaps in “unsanitary and unacceptable” conditions.

The report did note work had started to address the issues.

In August, almost 100 people previously held at the site said they were suing the Home Office over claims they were subjected to “ill-treatment” by staff.

The Home Office told The Observer it does not comment on continuing legal proceedings.