Top News

An investigation by the Sun has exposed a startling array of perks provided to illegal migrants held in removal centres, including private maths tutors, exercise classes, and on-call GPs.

This revelation comes as Labour announces plans to offer ex-asylum seekers payments of over £3,000 to return home, as part of an effort to tackle the "out of control" system.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has expressed concerns that the country has become more "divided" in light of these findings.

The Sun probe uncovers that a staggering £1.5million is spent every week on moving detainees between centres and to deportation flights using specialist escorts from Border Force.

These migrants are held in the centres while awaiting deportation or while their immigration status is being determined.

In some instances, foreign prison inmates are moved to the immigration removal centres in preparation for their return to their home countries after serving a portion of their sentences.

Border Force has spent a whopping £54.482million in the first eight months of this year alone on escorting detainees to IRCs and airports.

Contractors are employed to escort those who have no lawful basis to remain and are in the process of being deported.

So far this year, June and July have been the most costly months with the transport bill topping £14.479million - or £237,540 every day. The majority of this money goes to private firms Mitie Care and Custody Limited and Bloom Procurement Services.

More than 35,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other immigration offenders have been sent back to their home countries since July 2024.

Details of the costs for "in country escort" have been published in Home Office data showing how it spends tax cash.

Meanwhile, the Home Office and the NHS are hiring a £139,000-a-year lead doctor and a £134,000-a-year deputy to treat detainees across two sites near Heathrow.

This means there will be at least two on-call doctors to provide a "high-quality" service for 820 migrants, while there is only one GP for every 2,250 public patients at surgeries across England.

At Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre in Co Durham, women waiting to be deported are given free maths tutoring and access to exercise classes.

The contractor Serco also provides art and IT lessons in addition to access to a gym.

Officials say the programme aims to stop Channel migrants from attempting to re-enter the UK by giving them skills and opportunities to rebuild their lives in their home countries.