IRC Morton Hall is an
Immigration Removal Centre
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival, as well as those subject to deportation and removal until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a vi ...
located in the village of
Morton Hall
Morton Hall is a small village in the civil parish of Swinderby , in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-west from the City of Lincoln, and is centrally located between the nearby larger villages of Swind ...
(near
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
) in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The centre is operated by
His Majesty's Prison Service, and was previously a women's prison.
History
Morton Hall was originally the site of an
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
base, which was converted into a prison and opened in 1985. It was expanded in 1996, and refitted to become a semi-open women's prison in 2001. Two ready to use units were opened in 2002, increasing overall capacity. From that time Morton Hall has been developing as a prison holding a high percentage of
foreign national
A foreign national is any person (including an organization) who is not a national of a specific country. ("The term 'person' means an individual or an organization.") For example, in the United States and in its territories, a foreign national ...
s.
In January 2004, Morton became the first prison in England (along with
HMP Kirkham) to trial the Intermittent Custody Scheme. The scheme saw some inmates held at Morton Hall from Monday to Friday (released at weekends), while another set of prisoners were held on Saturdays and Sundays (released during the week). The scheme was designed to allow prisoners on short sentences to remain in employment, independent housing and maintain family ties during their jail terms. The scheme was subsequently abandoned in November 2006.
In May 2004, a report from the
Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punish ...
called for more facilities and support for foreign prisoners held at Morton Hall. The Trust noted improvements at the jail, but stated that more resources and staff training were needed to improve the regime at Morton Hall.
Morton Hall was recategorised as a closed women's prison in 2009.
The prison held a high percentage of foreign nationals, and had a resettlement unit for prisoners coming to the end of their sentence who were settling in the UK.
In 2011 Morton Hall closed and re-opened as an Immigration Removal Centre,
[ holding adult males awaiting deportation. The centre was formally opened on 1 June 2011 by Immigration Minister ]Damian Green
Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the Second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he has b ...
.
In April 2015 several detainees started refusing food, in solidarity with a hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
at Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the county of Greater London with a short border to the south onto Heathrow Airport, London Heathrow Airport. The village has no railway stations, but adjoins the M4 motorway and t ...
immigration detention centre.
Deaths in custody
On 5 September 2014 Rubel Ahmed
Rubel Ahmed (died 5 September 2014) was a 26-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant to Britain, who died in Morton Hall immigration detention centre in controversial circumstances. His family called for an independent inquiry.Diane TaylorCall for inquiry ...
, a 26-year-old detainee, died in controversial circumstances at Morton Hall, resulting in rioting and prompting calls for an independent inquiry.[Diane Taylor]
Call for inquiry into death at Morton Hall immigration detention centre
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 7 September 2014.
During the period 2016–2017, four people died in custody at Morton Hall.
Attempted deportation of witnesses
In April 2018, Home Secretary Amber Rudd
Amber Augusta Rudd (born 1 August 1963) is a British former politician who served as Home Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye, fi ...
was barred by the High Court from her attempt to deport a witness before he could give evidence to an inquest into the death of Carlington Spencer at Morton Hall.
In February 2019, it emerged that the Home Office intended to deport two other key witnesses in the inquest of Spencer's death, before they would be able to give testimony. They were due to give evidence in March 2019. The witnesses accused the Home Office of attempting to cover up the events leading to Spencer's death, by preventing their evidence from being heard in court.
References
External links
Ministry of Justice pages on Morton Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton Hall (Hm Prison)
Immigration to the United Kingdom
Immigration detention centres and prisons in the United Kingdom
1985 establishments in England
Buildings and structures in Lincolnshire