Thank you for your comment. I am not sure what you mean by our ‘shock tactics’ or what your first hand experience of the manipulation of illegal immigrants is – but can I just point out the following?

If you are referring to families whose asylum claims have been denied and who are subsequently detained, they are not illegal. It is not a crime to make a claim for asylum under the refugee convention even if it is later denied by the government of the country to which you applied. There may be a very small number of families who have been arrested as ‘clandestine immigrants’ but you and the government would have to produce the figures to prove that there are more than a handful of such cases in Dungavel and Yarl’s Wood.

Children are not used “unmercilessly” as a tool by the families we have worked with who have been the subject of detention, they are far too traumatised and fearful. The children who have been imprisoned in Yarl’s Wood who the government said had no right to remain later turned out to have well founded grounds of persecution and have now been given leave to remain or refugee status. They children remain, however, very fearful of authority and numerous independent reports from doctors, psychologists and most recently the chief inspector of prisons have shown that they suffer long term harm as a result of detention. These are not scare tactics but facts and you can find the reports on our website.

As to ‘splitting up families’ – I am tempted to say are you Phil Woolas in disguise? The UK Borders Minister says this is the only alternative to detention so it is not surprising that members of the public repeat this false claim.

Several countries with large number of ‘unfounded’ asylum claims such as Sweden, Australia, and Canada have come up with alternatives to detention involving close monitoring in the community prior to eventual removal. As a result they have far higher numbers of assisted voluntary returns than the UK because they do not treat people as criminals and they put the welfare of the child above the needs of the immigration system as our government is required to do by UK, European and international law.

Finally, the government routinely separates families and imprisons parents in different parts of its ‘detention estate’ rather than keeping the family unit together as the law requires. The government knows that making this an official policy would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU Directive to which its own ministers put their signature. It is a nasty scare tactic meant to persuade people like you that detention is the only alternative.

It is not not and every major Christian and Jewish faith group, all the major childrens’s charities, the Children’s Commissioner for England, several Royal Colleges of Medicine and 121 MPs and numerous peers and bishops agree with us. As so I’m pleased to say do the over 4,700 people who have signed our petition. I hope you will reconsider and join them.

best wishes

Simon Parker, for End Child Detention Now

I have first hand knowledge that illegal immigrants are expert at manipulation ..you must be aware of this?

You can not be so blinded by your cause as to not see the symptoms!
Children are used unmercilessly..as a useful tool to soliicit sympathy..and unjustified allegations?

Your shock tactic headlines to the right…are highly selective!! to say the least

So you wish these children to be split from families and taken in to care ..because that is all that is open to the poweres that be?

conditions should always be improved at these centres.,.

but at the end of the day

these folk are illegal and should not be here in the first palce