Thank you for contacting me about those detained in detention facilities.
I believe that it is right that the dignity and welfare of detained individuals should be upheld and that the Government has procedures in place to safeguard vulnerable people while they are detained in immigration detention. This includes people of different genders, identities and sexual orientations. Any discrimination against those detained in the UK's immigration facilities is unacceptable and the Government should take action against anyone who is found to have behaved inappropriately.
I understand that the Government has said that its policy will not create an automatic presumption that those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are inherently vulnerable due to their sexuality, which is a different view from the one that you hold.
I cannot support this campaign as I am supportive of the approach that the Conservative Party has outlined which will radically alter the way in which our country deals with migration.
As part of this plan, all new illegal entrants to the UK would be removed within one week. To achieve this, a detention and processing centre will be needed initially with a capacity of up to 1,000 for most periods. Therefore, while I believe it is critical for people to be detained safely we must make sure that we do not restrict the ability of our country to detain and remove those who are in the UK illegally.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
