This week has seen a major uprising at Harmondsworth detention centre near London's Heathrow airport. Harmondsworth is the biggest such centre the UK, with space for 550 detainees. A report by the chief inspector of prisons this week strongly criticised conditions in the centre, describing it as the "poorest report ever" on any UK immigration removal centre (full report here http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspect_reports/irc-in... ).

The spark for the protest appears to have been an attempt by a guard to prevent detainees from watching a TV news item about the report on Tuesday night. Soon all four wings of the centre were in uproar with fires started. The next day, detainees spelt out the words 'SOS', 'Help' and 'Freedom' in the yard. Police and prison officers were brought in from all over the South of England to suppress the revolt, with detainees subsequently being mistreated and held in appalling conditions. As detainees were moved out of Harmondsworth, 150 people were released from other detention centres to make way for them.

More reports at Indymedia.:
https://www1.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/357432.html