Nick Clegg confirms end to child detention
Thu, 16 Dec 2010
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg this morning announced that child detention for immigration purposes is to end.
He said the practice will end completely by May 2011, and confirmed that the family wing of Yarl's Wood immigration centre in Bedfordshire is to close immediately. No child will be held in detention over Christmas.
Mr Clegg said:
"The coalition government has always been clear that the detention of children for immigration purposes is unacceptable.
"We are placing the welfare of children and families at the centre of a fairer and more compassionate system.
"In recent years we have seen hundreds of children, who have committed no crime, locked up in detention centres. Today we show how we will ensure it never happens again."
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