We received this report yesterday of a protest at Oakington detention centre in Cambridgeshire:

Detainees in Oakington Reception Centre have been protesting through out the day, numbers of them assembled outside the canteen and refused to enter for meals and there was apparently a stand off between detainees and guards. Problems the long term detainees say have been exacerbated by sudden overcrowding with detainees being moved from Campsfield to make room for detainees from Harmondsworth.

25 Turkish detainees barricaded themselves into one of the recreation rooms about midmorning. Complaints are that staff are herding the detainees about like cattle. Detainees are forced out of their beds every morning at 7.00am, then have to spend the rest of the day with nothing to do. There is no education, no access to computers, none of the normal regime that many now in Oakington were used to at Campsfield.

Many detainees would prefer to be removed than remain locked up, been yonks in detention but Home Office can't/ won't produce the paper work to ship them home.

8 detainees have escaped in the last fortnight and herein lies a tale. After the escapes, GSL (private company running centre) tore down fencing around the camp allowing a local farmers prize heifers to be impregnated by low life local bulls who had been admiring the heifers from the other side of the fence and seeing their chance took it. The farmer is now suing GSL for negligence.