REFUGEE families are being detained in tents with young children sleeping on mats on the floor for up to a month at an overcrowded holding centre in Kent, an inspector has revealed. 

Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration David Neal told MPs he was left “speechless” after visiting Manston on Monday, where 2,800 people are being held at a site designed to accommodate just 1,600. 

The former airbase near Ramsgate was opened as a short-term holding facility by the Home Office in February to accommodate new small boat arrivals for a 24-hour period before being moved on to hotels or detention centres.