We are very grateful to the Minster of State for the Middle East and North East Bedford MP Alistair Burt for granting us a visit on the 9/03/18 where a few of us got the opportunity to talk to him about our concerns and give him the list of our demands which he stated he could deliver to the Immigration minister, we trust as a member of the cabinet he has the ability to do so in a timely manner.

I am hopeful as he was most attentive and showed genuine interest in our situation.

He confirmed that the purpose of Immigration Removal Centres is to detain those the Home Office can remove and not people they intend to remove, and I hope that we will be free to fight our cases from a different position soon. I hope he takes active measures to ensure the Home Office apply this policy as in was intended and not as the Home Office choose to interpret it.

The fact that a considerable number of detainees are eventually released into the community clearly demonstrates that there is no purpose in their detention in the first place and this is unfair, counterproductive, and a costly measure both to the people detained and the tax payer.

I hope he does not forget about us in this tucked away, quiet part of his constituency and we hope to hear from him soon.