Tory ex-ministers face serious questions over migrant centre chaos, inquiry hears

The Manston centre in Kent, used to hold thousands of migrants, became overcrowded in November 2022 at the height of the small boats crisis.

Home Office officials knew conditions were unlawful and children were at risk of harm, but had no alternative plan for where to accommodate them.

Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman shared in preliminary evidence that Number 10 was involved in decisions made at the time.

The centre, a former military site near Dover, was converted into an emergency holding facility for cross-channel migrants in early 2022, as small boat crossings began to soar.

It was designed to hold up to around 1,000 people at any one time and for no longer than a legal limit of 24 hours.

But by November 2022, thousands of people were sleeping in marquees and it was apparent that there was disease, illness and no adequate care for children traumatised by crossing the English Channel.

During this critical period, the government was hoping that it could eventually send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Doctors identified diphtheria was present - and that 31-year-old Iraqi Hussein Haseeb Ahmed was suspected of suffering from the highly dangerous disease, the preparatory inquiry hearing heard on Friday.

He died on 19 November at 05:30 after he was admitted to hospital as his condition deteriorated.