Public Inquiry Into Detainees

EDM number 866 in 1993-94, proposed by Graham Allen on 15/03/1994.

That this House is greatly concerned about Government policy on detainees in general and by events at Campsfield detention centre in Oxfordshire in particular; believes that the very large number of detainees on hunger strike, by some estimates 130 individuals out of a potential 200, necessitates a full and genuinely independent public inquiry; believes further that allegations of attempted force-feeding need to be addressed as a matter of urgency; deplores the culture of secrecy and evasion that surrounds events at Campsfield; is appalled that the Home Office is unable to provide basic information, such as the precise number of individuals held in detention at Campsfield, the length of time for which they have been detained and the estimated time that it will take to process their claims for asylum; and believes further that events at Campsfield signify the utter failure of the Government's unethical and unworkable policy of mass detention of asylum-seekers.

This motion has been signed by a total of 52 MPs.