10.3.15
At around 5pm today, a coach leaving Brook House ‘Immigration Removal Centre’ was stopped in the road by people holding a banner saying ‘This Deportation is Illegal’. As the coach came to a stop one person ran past the police car to the front of the coach and superglued her hands to the windscreen wipers. The coach was stuck in the road outside the detention centre for over two hours. All protesters have now been removed from the scene with 3 potential arrests.
The coach contained people who were on the way to the airport to be forcibly removed from the UK. Today charter flights are due to take place to Albania, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mike said he came to Gatwick today ‘to protest the Home Office policy of forced expulsion and to stop the charter flights which are due to take place this evening’.
This protest is not happening in isolation. Migrants are on hunger strike in detention centres across the country with protesters also outside Harmondsworth IRC in solidarity with those facing removal to Afghanistan at 10.30pm this evening. Recent news reports by Channel 4 have also highlighted appalling treatment of migrants within the UK’s detention estate.
Solidarity to all involved.