Immigrant detention fails children -inspector

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) Children of asylum seekers awaiting deportation are being held for too long at one of Britain's biggest immigration detention centres, the prison watchdog said in a report today.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said little thought was given to children's welfare over their detention at the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire.

The inspector made an unannounced visit in February to the centre, which was badly damaged by fire during rioting in 2002.

Of 32 children held at the centre, seven had been held for longer than 28 days and three had been there since December.

Some of those interviewed told inspectors the conditions were like a prison, while others complained of feeling frightened and worried.

''The detention of children should be exceptional and for no more than a few days,'' Owers said in her report. ''There was still no evidence that children's welfare was taken into account when making decisions about initial and continued detention.'' Home Office minister Liam Byrne said child detention was kept to a minimum and was subject to ''frequent and rigorous review'' but he said he took the report very seriously.

''An action plan responding in detail ... is currently being drawn up,'' he said.

Owers said her team found ''positive'' relations between staff and detainees and improvements to catering, healthcare and education. Some children said the staff were friendly and played games with them.

But she raised concerns over the management of self-harming adults, the removal of detainees without proper warning and a lack of information about people's cases. The treatment of the children was the biggest worry, she said.

''They require a complete overhaul of the detention of children, informed by a proper understanding of the vulnerability of children,'' Owers said in her report.

The Refugee Council welcomed the report, saying a detention centre was no place for a child.

''It's truly shocking to hear that nearly one quarter of the children had been locked up for over 28 days,'' the Refugee Council's Jane Dykins said. ''The cost of detention is high for the state -- but so much higher for children, who don't know why they are locked up or for how long they will be there.'' Charity Save the Children said they were concerned that the welfare of children at Yarl's Wood had been seriously neglected.

''These children need protection not punishment,'' UK Director Colette Marshall said.

Reuters SK VP0635