Migrants are being held in detention for years on end, according to reports

THE Home Office has been blasted by campaigners after new figures revealed that migrants are being held in detention for years on end, despite not facing any charges, according to reports.

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The Home Office has been blasted in response to new figures

The new figures revealed how one man has been in custody, awaiting deportation, for nearly five years, according to information released to The Independent under the Freedom of Information Act.

He tops the list of 20 migrants who have all been held for at least two years.

Among them are four migrants who have each been in custody for more than three years.

In total, the 20 people highlighted in the new figures have spent more than 53 years in detention between them.

Campaigners and politicians have branded the situation a "disgrace" and likened it to Guantanamo Bay.

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The Home Office has been accused of 'simply warehousing unwanted migrants'

Jerome Phelps, the director of Detention Action, said: "The US has been widely condemned for detention without trial in Guantanamo, yet the UK stands revealed as locking up migrants for comparable periods in immigration detention centres."

The total number of people detained under Immigration Act Powers awaiting deportation currently stands at 3,378, according to the new figures.

They are facing no criminal charges and are mostly failed asylum seekers, while others are likely to be those whose visas have run out.

They are housed in detention centres such as Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire, which has been dogged by reports of sexual misconduct by staff, women being detained for long periods and pregnant detainees being held without justification.

The Home Office is simply warehousing unwanted migrants, at vast public expense, causing incalculable damage to their mental health

Jerome Phelps

Mr Phelps added: "The Home Office is simply warehousing unwanted migrants, at vast public expense, causing incalculable damage to their mental health."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "It is disgraceful that some people are being detained for over four years."

A Home Office spokesman said: "Those with no right to be in the UK should return home. We will help those who wish to leave voluntarily but will enforce the removal of those who refuse.

"Detention is used as a last resort when an individual will not leave voluntarily or when there is a serious risk they will abscond from bail. When we do detain people it is for the minimum time possible.

"All detention is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it only lasts as long as it continues to be justified and necessary. However, we have a duty to protect the public from those who pose a risk of harm and in particular those who have committed serious criminal offences.

"If a court determines that detention has been unlawful, compensation is paid at the end of litigation proceedings. This process can last for several years after the detention has ended."

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