Tory ex-ministers face serious questions over migrant centre chaos, inquiry hears

An overcrowded migrant reception centre, where a man died, raises "very serious questions" for ministers in the former Conservative government, including two home secretaries and former prime ministers, an inquiry has heard.

The Manston centre in Kent became overwhelmed in November 2022 at the height of the small boats crisis, with around 4,000 people held there.

Home Office officials knew conditions were unlawful and children were at risk of harm, but had no alternative plan for where to accommodate them, the inquiry heard on Friday.

Former Home Secretaries Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman shared in preliminary evidence that Number 10 was involved in decisions made at the time.

The Manston centre, a former military site near Dover, was converted into an emergency holding facility for cross-channel migrants in early 2022, as small boat crossings began to soar.

It was designed to hold up to around 1,000 people at any one time and for no longer than a legal limit of 24 hours.

But by November 2022, thousands of people were sleeping in marquees and it was apparent that there was disease, illness and no adequate care for children traumatised by crossing the English Channel.

During this critical period, the government was hoping that it could eventually send asylum seekers to Rwanda.