Revealed: Mental health crisis inside UK’s largest asylum accommodation centre

Deep in the Essex countryside, a former RAF base is housing hundreds of people who are seeking asylum in the UK.

We’ve been sent exclusive footage from inside the Wethersfield asylum centre, where residents claim a mental health crisis is being ignored, leading to regular suicide attempts and self harm.

Mobile phone footage shows several incidents of men threatening to jump from the roof and being taken away by paramedics after self-harming or staging hunger strikes. Ambulances have been called out more than 50 times this year.

Many residents also claim they’ve been verbally abused by guards at the facility. One video appears to show a driver arguing with an asylum seeker. Although we don’t know the circumstances surrounding the videos, the driver is heard saying “You’re in this country and you’re telling me to f*** off? Shut up.”

In another video, asylum seekers say they were belittled when they tried to get urgent help for a friend who they thought was threatening to self harm. In response, the guard says “You’re in England, speak English.”

We’ve seen a confidential report for the Home Office by the Red Cross which says the physical conditions in Wethersfield exacerbate trauma. They say the barbed wire, checkpoints, curfews and security can make it feel like a prison even though it isn’t officially a detention centre. The report also found that staff were desensitised, with some guards minimising the men’s distress and incidents of self harm.

The Home Office told us one person has been dismissed and they expect suppliers to take rapid action when they fall below standards.

They and the private contractor Clearsprings Ready Homes say the welfare of the people housed in Wethersfield is of the utmost priority and the residents have access to an on-site GP and mental health support.

Outside the facility, the asylum centre continues to divide the local community. We can reveal that two men from a nearby village were arrested here this week on suspicion of the racially aggravated harassment of asylum seekers.

Other villagers have reached out to the centre’s residents, providing activities like English classes. But all sides agree that the remote site isn’t suitable.

Labour has pledged to close the asylum centre, but they haven’t said when or what the alternative is. Although they want to disperse the men elsewhere, in reality there just aren’t enough homes. 

We met dozens of people from across the world who are here to seek sanctuary, one man describing that he just wants “a chance at life.” And there is no sign that they will stop taking that chance.

Just this week, 900 more people arrived by small boat.

Our communities editor, Darshna Soni, made contact with several people detained at the centre and has this exclusive report.

A warning: this report contains distressing images and descriptions of attempted suicide.

Additional reporting by Jack Parkes