Nearly 200 people gathered Saturday 21st March in Bedford town centre, than heading to Yarl's Wood immigration prison, demanding its closure. Yarl's Wood has 405 capacity and holds single women and families with children. The building of a new immigration prison, next to Yarl's Wood, has just been approved, to hold 500 single men.

There were many asylum seekers and ex-detainees in the protest, alongside anti-racist groups, students and campaigners. Most people came from London, but there were Bedford based campaigners and people from Birmingham, South Wales, Leicester, Oxford, Brighton...
There were also lots of police to cordon the protest.

see also: Yarl's Wood 2009

The new immigration detention centre at Gatwick airport will not be opened until the spring, Corporate Watch has learned. The official opening had been scheduled for February this year but has been delayed for undisclosed reasons. The purpose-built high-security prison, named Brook House, is based on the 'successful' design of Colnbrook detention centre at Heathrow airport. The new detention centre will be run by Global Solution Ltd (GSL), which is now owned by G4S, and will hold up to 426 male and female detainees.