By james art The security company, which runs and operates the detention center near Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, said a 26-year-old man died on Sunday.
The Home Office said their condolences go out to the man’s family and friends.
It comes almost a year after a 37-year-old Albanian man died after attempting to commit suicide in November 2023 while in custody at Brook House.
In connection with the death of a man in custody yesterday, we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who knew and loved him.
Brook House is prison architecture and no one should take their last breath there. We mourn that a young man died before he was free.
— Gatwick Detainees (@GatDetainees) October 28, 2024
A public inquiry into the detention center concluded that migrants were mistreated.
The investigation found there were 19 cases of detainee abuse over a five-month period in 2017.
The government has been criticized for its response to the inquiry, with chairwoman Kate Eaves – appointed by the then Conservative government to lead the inquiry – calling in September for a “reset” of the government’s “inadequate” response to her recommendations.
A spokesman for Brook House said: “We can confirm the death of a 26-year-old man at Brook House yesterday.”
Gatwick Detainee Support Group, which supports those detained at Brook House, said “no one should take their last breath” at the centre.
Paying tribute to the man who died, the charity said on X, formerly Twitter: “On the death of a man in custody yesterday, we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all who knew and loved him.
“Brook House is prison architecture and no one should take their last breath there. We mourn that a young man died before he was free.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International’s UK Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights, said: “We are devastated by reports that another person has died at Brook House detention centre. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and the other detainees affected by this tragedy.
“Brook House became notorious for violence, racism and abuse. We do not yet know what role this may have played in this man’s death, but these degradations stem from a wider failure to make a system respect human dignity and rights.
“Tragic incidents like this highlight why the government needs to bring humanity to the immigration system as much as any other policy area – people’s lives depend on it.”
Medical Justice, which works with vulnerable people in immigration detention, has branded immigration removal centers (IRCs) “dangerous”.
The charity referred to Frank Ospina, who died last March while detained at Colnbrook Immigration Centre, in West Drayton, Middlesex, awaiting deportation to Colombia.
A jury at an inquest into his death found that he committed suicide.
The medical justice said: “The Brook House investigation found that clinical safeguards in custody were ‘dysfunctional’ and systemic errors persisted.
“Just a few days ago, in response to the investigation into Frank Ospina’s suicide in immigration detention after a catalog of failings in his care, the Home Office said it had taken a number of actions to improve safeguards for people in detention.
“Medical Justice has little confidence that this is the case, as we have seen no improvement in custody safety after many similar assurances over the years.”