Mass containment sites for people seeking asylum must be abandoned

“Quasi-detention” sites are harmful to the health of people seeking asylum and must be replaced with safe and stable accommodation Prolonged confinement of people seeking asylum in mass containment centres is deeply harmful to their health and can in some cases violate international human rights laws.1 Despite this, such centres continue to be used in the UK and have until recently been promoted as a way of controlling migration flows. Since 2020, the UK government has used former military barracks and a barge, the Bibby Stockholm, to house asylum seekers. These mass containment sites are not suitable accommodation for anyone seeking asylum, and they are particularly damaging for people with trauma and poor health. The new government must urgently replace these sites with safe and dignified community based accommodation for people seeking asylum, with access to appropriate and timely healthcare. The new government’s recent announcement that the current contract for the Bibby Stockholm (which expires in January 2025) would not be renewed2 is a welcome first step in this direction. Napier Barracks was initially used as a “pilot” for further mass containment centres, but it continues to be used, despite having “a profound and cumulative corrosive impact on physical and mental health,”3 …