It was a landmark public inquiry that exposed inhumane and degrading treatment, frequent misuse of force and explicit racism towards vulnerable asylum seekers in immigration detention centres.

A year on from the Brook House inquiry, the government has only implemented one of the 33 recommendations made by its chair Kate Eves.

While she’s now accusing them of failing to learn lessons, this programme can reveal that Home Office lawyers – acting for the then Home Secretary James Cleverly – said her inquiry had no legal authority, adding that she had no legal qualifications.

A warning this report contains distressing content.

Home Office told human rights lawyers that it could ignore Brook House inquiry