CONDITIONS in detention centres and prisons in Britain “fall far short” of international and domestic human rights standards, a new report has found.

The findings were published today by the National Preventative Mechanism (NPM), an organisation made up of 21 bodies, and drawn from 50,000 visits to every category of detention facility.

The body raised three areas of concern over breaches of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Overcrowding in prisons has prevented routine maintenance, leaving many plagued with cockroaches, flooding, broken flooring and unusable showers, the report found.

It warned of increasing concerns about “inappropriate” chemical restraint, such as intubation, being used to control distressed institutionalised people with learning disabilities and autism.

And with Britain being the only country in Europe not to have a statuary limit on pre-deportation detention, it said people in immigration detention centres end up spending indefinite periods in custody, “contributing to violence, depression and self-harm.”

As of March, 1,102 detainees in immigration centres had held longer than the UN Human Rights Committee’s recommended limit of 28 days. Of those, 105 had been detained for more than six months.

There were reports of individuals being held in detention for several months even after a doctor’s assessment concluded they were at serious risk of harm. 

Freedom from Torture head of asylum advocacy Sile Reynolds said: “These issues are systemic and reflect an escalating pattern of institutional cruelty towards people seeking sanctuary in the UK. 

“Our therapeutic work with survivors of torture shows just how profoundly damaging detention is. Yet despite the evidence of harm, the government is not only continuing but expanding its use, including the recent opening of Campsfield. 

“Survivors should never be detained and the neglect, abuse and mistreatment they and others have suffered in immigration removal centres is a national disgrace.”

It comes as ministers seek to change how the ECHR is interpreted to make deportations easier.

But the NPM said that “leaders must recognise that the everyday rights and dignity of people in care homes, secure mental health units, places of immigration detention and justice settings depend on these protections and take urgent action to uphold them.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been contacted for comment.