Immigration Detention Centres promised by the Government will not be fully operational until 2025 at the earliest.

Moves to re-open the mothballed facilities play a crucial role in Rishi Sunak‘s pledge to ‘stop the boats’.

Under the new Illegal Migration Act – due to come into force in January – ‘irregular’ migrants, including small boat arrivals, face being ‘detained and swiftly removed’ from Britain.

But the centres, Campsfield House and Haslar, are in such a state of disrepair they will not be able to open fully for at least two years. 

The delays mean the capacity to detain migrants will be lower than ministers had hoped.