Footage is said to show officers mocking and assaulting detainees at centre near Gatwick.
T
he private security contractor G4S has suspended nine staff from an immigration centre near Gatwick after fresh claims of abuse and assaults against detainees, prompting calls for the government to stop awarding it contracts.
An investigation has also been launched into allegations by the BBC’s Panorama of “chaos, incompetence and abuse” at Brook House immigration removal centre.
The programme claims to have undercover footage showing officers “mocking, abusing and even assaulting detainees” at the facility, where drugs are allegedly rife.
G4S said nine staff had been suspended pending further investigation in the latest scandal to hit the controversial firm.
Jerry Petherick, the managing director for custodial and detention services, said: “There is no place for the type of conduct described in the allegations anywhere in G4S. Such behaviour is not representative of the many G4S colleagues who do a great job, often in difficult and challenging circumstances, across the country.
We have not yet been provided with the recorded evidence which forms the basis of the allegations and it is inappropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of our investigation.
Once we have seen the evidence and concluded the investigation, I will ensure that we take the appropriate action. We continue to focus on the care and wellbeing of detainees at Brook House. The episode is due to air on BBC1 at 9pm on Monday.
The allegations are the latest in series of well-documented problems on government security contracts awarded to G4S. In November 2013, three G4S guards were acquitted of manslaughter over the unlawful killing of Jimmy Mubenga, who died on a deportation flight to Angola.
In the same year, G4S was also temporarily banned from bidding for government contracts over allegations of overcharging on contracts to electronically monitor offenders. The ban was lifted in 2014 when G4S agreed to repay £109m and put in place a “corporate renewal plan” to prevent any recurrence.
The G4S-run child jail at Oakhill has been plagued with high levels of violence, according to inspectors. The firm was stripped of a contract to run Medway Secure Training Centre (STC) after another Panorama undercover exposé and the firm’s other STC, Rainsbrook in Northamptonshire, was transferred to another provider last year.
Earlier this year, G4S partially backed down in row about a plan to film people in their own homes without their consent, as part of its contract to house 30,000 asylum seekers.
The shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, tweeted that the government should stop awarding contracts to G4S.