A new government contract for an immigration detention centre near Heathrow Airport, costing around £100,000 per bed per year, has been defended by ministers as “great value” for taxpayers despite criticism over its scale and symbolism.
Home Office minister Alex Norris said the planned Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre must be “secure, humane and dignified”, arguing that detention facilities are essential both for carrying out deportations and for deterring people from attempting to enter the UK illegally. His comments came as the government published new enforcement figures showing a sharp rise in immigration raids across London.
The government is currently seeking a commercial partner to run the Heathrow Immigration Removal Centre, a medium-security facility split across two sites at Colnbrook and Harmondsworth in west London. Together, the sites provide around 1,000 beds and are expected to process roughly 12,000 people a year as detainees move through the system ahead of removal.
The contract is due to begin in 2028 for an initial six-year period, with the option of a further four-year extension. Over a full decade, the deal could be worth up to £1bn, a figure that has attracted scrutiny both inside and outside Parliament. When broken down, the projected cost equates to around £100,000 per bed per year, though ministers stress this reflects turnover rather than long-term occupancy by individuals.
🛂 Detention, deterrence and taxpayer value
Speaking on LBC Radio, Norris insisted the figures needed to be viewed in context. He argued that each bed space would be used by multiple people over the course of a year and said the costs should be compared with alternatives such as housing detainees in prisons or hotels.
“You have to have detention in order to do removals,” he said, adding that the system was central to enforcing immigration decisions rather than optional. Norris said the centre would need to meet security standards while also ensuring detainees were treated with dignity, but claimed this still represented good value when set against the wider costs of immigration enforcement.
He also emphasised what he described as the deterrent effect of detention, arguing that visible capacity to remove people from the UK discouraged others from attempting to make the journey. “More detention is important and that is why we are bringing that on stream,” he said.
The funding would cover security, accommodation, food, education and recreational activities, welfare provision, and the management of admissions and discharges. Critics have seized on those details to argue the facility risks appearing overly generous at a time of pressure on public services.
📊 Comparisons and controversy
The estimated £100,000 annual cost per bed is almost double the average £52,000 annual cost of housing a prisoner in England and significantly higher than the £63,000 annual fees charged by Eton College. Ministers argue such comparisons are misleading, given the specialist staffing and security requirements of immigration detention, but opponents say the figures are politically damaging.
Spending at the Heathrow site has previously drawn criticism. In August, the government ordered the removal of job adverts for tutors to run balloon-craft, floristry and cake-decorating classes for detainees awaiting deportation. The adverts prompted an outcry, and then-Home Office minister Seema Malhotra instructed contractor Mitie to withdraw them, saying they were inappropriate given the purpose of the centre.
🗳️ Political divide over immigration policy
Opposition figures have attacked the scale of the spending. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the plans as “madness” and argued that the UK should leave the European Convention on Human Rights and the modern slavery framework to allow faster and cheaper deportations of illegal migrants and foreign criminals.
Labour ministers have rejected that approach, stressing that removals must comply with international law and human rights obligations. Norris said that while the government was committed to tougher enforcement, it also had to operate within legal and safety constraints.
New figures released alongside the announcement show that arrests for illegal working reached a record 8,971 last year, up nearly 59% from 5,647 in 2024. Of those arrested, 1,087 people have so far been removed from the UK. The Home Office said many of the remaining cases were still moving through the system, while others could not be returned because their home countries were deemed unsafe.
🚨 Enforcement and human rights concerns
The government says the increased arrests form part of a broader strategy to cut immigration, including efforts to address the small boats crossings that saw more than 41,000 people cross the Channel last year in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.
However, concerns have also been raised from within Labour’s own ranks. Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell has warned in the Commons about the treatment of detainees at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre, particularly those returned to France under the government’s one-in, one-out agreement.
The debate over the Heathrow centre reflects wider tensions in immigration policy, balancing enforcement and deterrence against cost, legality and the treatment of those held in detention. As the government presses ahead with the contract process, the scale and symbolism of the spending are likely to remain politically contentious.
One response to “Minister defends £100,000-a-bed Heathrow immigration centre as ‘great value’”
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These people are here illegally and have broken UK Law ,they should be held in detention centres until rapidly deported.
No iffs,no buts,no legal representation,no money.
This is an invasion of young men of unknown identity and purpose,it must be stopped you are putting the UK at considerable risk
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