Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Refugee centre gave job to BNP candidate

The security firm Group 4 employed a British National Party member to work with asylum-seekers at a detention centre despite the party's views on immigration.

Richard Green, who is standing as a BNP candidate in this week's local elections, passed Group 4's vetting procedure to become a custody officer and physical training instructor at Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire, Europe's largest immigration detention facility. Mr Green was employed there between April and November 2001, when he was not a paid-up member of the BNP. At his interview, he was not asked by Group 4 if he had any links with racist groups.

Alastair Burt, the Conservative MP for North-east Bedfordshire, has written to Beverley Hughes, the immigration minister, to demand an investigation. "Membership of the BNP would seem to most people to indicate a political view of immigrants and the immigrant process," Mr Burt said. Refugee support groups also called on the Government to investigate existing vetting procedures for detention centre staff.

Group 4 said it would be discriminatory to inquire into applicants' political affiliations.

Emma Ginn, a spokeswoman for the Campaign to Stop Arbitrary Detentions at Yarl's Wood, said: "It's appalling that he was allowed to work with people who have already experienced persecution in their own families."

The treatment of asylum-seekers in detention centres has attracted fierce criticism. Earlier this month, a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons found that asylum-seekers in detention centres were subjected to routine strip searches and received little help for mental health problems.

Half of Yarl's Wood has been closed since February last year after a riot by detainees.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in