Home Office contractor investigates claims of staff racism and hate speech

Whistleblowers from Mitie allege some employees have made offensive remarks or liked abusive social media posts

One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned.

Whistleblowers from the company, Mitie , have alleged that some staff members working in immigration removal centres and deporting migrants have made offensive comments at work and in social media posts.

A dossier of examples, seen by the Guardian, has been sent to Mitie bosses, who said they were investigating.

The Home Office said the allegations were a matter for Mitie.

Allegations in the dossier include Islamophobic comments made at work. One staff member allegedly said immigrants “should be kicked out of our country”. Another allegedly said: “All Muslim men beat their wives.”

One staff member allegedly expressed support on social media for a group that reportedly has links to the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson.

Social media posts allegedly liked by Mitie staff members include one that refers to women as “old slags”, another that shows a photograph of an Orthodox Jewish man alongside the words “shalom cunts”, and another that says: “I call my weed the Qur’an, burning it gets you stoned.”