Jimmy Mubenga, who died after being
restrained by three G4S guards
on a flight.
restrained by three G4S guards
on a flight.
Matthew Taylor, theguardian.com,
A coroner who oversaw the inquest into the death of the Angolan deportee Jimmy Mubenga
has issued a highly critical report that raises a series of concerns
about the way the government and private contractors deport people from
the UK.
Mubenga, 46, died after being restrained by three G4S guards on board a plane at Heathrow airport that was bound for Angola in October 2010.
Last month, at the end of an eight-week inquest, a jury of seven men and three women recorded a majority verdict of nine to one of unlawful killing after four days of deliberations.
The coroner, Karon Monaghan, has now written a 30-page "rule 43 report" setting out recommendations to avoid future deaths in which she raises concerns about:
• A system of payment that rewards guards if they can keep a detainee quiet until the aircraft takes off;
• Evidence of "pervasive racism" among G4S detention custody officers who were tasked with removing detainees;
• Fears that these racist attitudes – and "loutish, laddish behaviour … Inappropriate language, and peer pressure" – are still common among escort guards today;
• Lack of "scenario specific" training for those tasked with trying to restrain people on aircrafts;
• Evidence of the use of dangerous restraint techniques such as "carpet karaoke" where detainees' heads are forced downwards to prevent them upsetting the passengers or causing the captain to abort the removal;
• and concern that many guards were not officially accredited to carry out removals – meaning they would have been acting illegally.
Mark Scott of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, who represented the Mubenga family, welcomed the report.
"The inquest into the death of Jimmy Mubenga exposed racism and dangerous and unlawful practices that were used in deportations. This rule 43 report is designed to prevent further fatalities and needs to be urgently and meaningfully addressed by the Home Office who have ultimate responsibility for the contractors that they choose to employ."
Deborah Coles, co-director of the campaign group Inquest, which supported the Mubenga family, said: "We welcome this powerful report that highlights the shocking practices revealed in evidence throughout the inquest. Its impact can only be measured by the state's response to it and the actions that are now taken."
Monaghan's report was sent to the family, the Home Office, G4S and the three guards who restrained him – Stuart Tribelnig, Terry Hughes and Colin Kaler. During the inquest it emerged that Hughes and Tribelnig had highly offensive racist jokes on their phones when they were seized by police.
But in her report Monaghan dismissed the notion that this was a problem confined to two individual guards.
"These texts were not evidence of a couple of 'rotten apples' but rather seemed to evidence a more pervasive racism within G4S," she writes.
G4S lost the contract shortly after Mubenga's death but Monaghan said "it cannot be assumed that the mere change in contractor will eliminate these cultural problems" as many of the guards are automatically transferred to the new company.
She added: "It seems unlikely that endemic racism would not impact at all on service provision … there was enough evidence to cause real concern, particularly at the possibility that such racism might find reflection in race-based antipathy towards detainees and deportees and that in turn might manifest itself in inappropriate treatment of them."
Monaghan also raised concerns over the way guards – and the private contractors they work for – are financially rewarded. She said G4S guards were on "zero-hours" contracts and although subsequent contracts did offer a low retainer salary guards working now still got more money if they managed to keep detainees quiet until the aircraft took off.
"It seems to me that incentivising the completion of removals by monetary award necessarily carries with it the risk that removals will go ahead in circumstances where otherwise they might be aborted. Having a financial interest in getting the job done does give rise to real concerns that inappropriate methods might be used to that end."
She said this may have been a factor in the use of highly dangerous and banned restraint techniques first revealed by the Guardian and subsequently in evidence at the inquest.
"Some dangerous practices have developed … with the specific purpose of ensuring that disruption by a deportee prior to takeoff does not prevent removal. This may be symptomatic of the chosen arrangements for paying contractor and in turn employee. That is obviously very concerning indeed."
The report highlights the lack of formal accreditation of some of the guards. One of those escorting Mubenga was not formally accredited but Monaghan said that was part of "agreed practice between G4S and the UK Border Agency."
"The evidence points not to a mere lack of robustness either in the procedures of G4S or the Home Office but to an agreement to dispense with the need for accreditation, apparently to address delays within the UK Border Agency in processing applications for accreditation."
Coles said this was one of the most disturbing aspects of the report. "The evasion of the legal framework on accreditation, essentially circumventing the law, is nothing short of a scandal. It is no wonder the racist culture went unchallenged – the absence of proper structures contributed to a toxic environment where irresponsible and dangerous behaviour could flourish."
The Home Office said it had received the report and would respond "in due course". A G4S spokesman said: "Racism has no place in G4S and when allegations of racism are made against our employees, we take them extremely seriously and always take disciplinary action when appropriate."
Mubenga, 46, died after being restrained by three G4S guards on board a plane at Heathrow airport that was bound for Angola in October 2010.
Last month, at the end of an eight-week inquest, a jury of seven men and three women recorded a majority verdict of nine to one of unlawful killing after four days of deliberations.
The coroner, Karon Monaghan, has now written a 30-page "rule 43 report" setting out recommendations to avoid future deaths in which she raises concerns about:
• A system of payment that rewards guards if they can keep a detainee quiet until the aircraft takes off;
• Evidence of "pervasive racism" among G4S detention custody officers who were tasked with removing detainees;
• Fears that these racist attitudes – and "loutish, laddish behaviour … Inappropriate language, and peer pressure" – are still common among escort guards today;
• Lack of "scenario specific" training for those tasked with trying to restrain people on aircrafts;
• Evidence of the use of dangerous restraint techniques such as "carpet karaoke" where detainees' heads are forced downwards to prevent them upsetting the passengers or causing the captain to abort the removal;
• and concern that many guards were not officially accredited to carry out removals – meaning they would have been acting illegally.
Mark Scott of Bhatt Murphy solicitors, who represented the Mubenga family, welcomed the report.
"The inquest into the death of Jimmy Mubenga exposed racism and dangerous and unlawful practices that were used in deportations. This rule 43 report is designed to prevent further fatalities and needs to be urgently and meaningfully addressed by the Home Office who have ultimate responsibility for the contractors that they choose to employ."
Deborah Coles, co-director of the campaign group Inquest, which supported the Mubenga family, said: "We welcome this powerful report that highlights the shocking practices revealed in evidence throughout the inquest. Its impact can only be measured by the state's response to it and the actions that are now taken."
Monaghan's report was sent to the family, the Home Office, G4S and the three guards who restrained him – Stuart Tribelnig, Terry Hughes and Colin Kaler. During the inquest it emerged that Hughes and Tribelnig had highly offensive racist jokes on their phones when they were seized by police.
But in her report Monaghan dismissed the notion that this was a problem confined to two individual guards.
"These texts were not evidence of a couple of 'rotten apples' but rather seemed to evidence a more pervasive racism within G4S," she writes.
G4S lost the contract shortly after Mubenga's death but Monaghan said "it cannot be assumed that the mere change in contractor will eliminate these cultural problems" as many of the guards are automatically transferred to the new company.
She added: "It seems unlikely that endemic racism would not impact at all on service provision … there was enough evidence to cause real concern, particularly at the possibility that such racism might find reflection in race-based antipathy towards detainees and deportees and that in turn might manifest itself in inappropriate treatment of them."
Monaghan also raised concerns over the way guards – and the private contractors they work for – are financially rewarded. She said G4S guards were on "zero-hours" contracts and although subsequent contracts did offer a low retainer salary guards working now still got more money if they managed to keep detainees quiet until the aircraft took off.
"It seems to me that incentivising the completion of removals by monetary award necessarily carries with it the risk that removals will go ahead in circumstances where otherwise they might be aborted. Having a financial interest in getting the job done does give rise to real concerns that inappropriate methods might be used to that end."
She said this may have been a factor in the use of highly dangerous and banned restraint techniques first revealed by the Guardian and subsequently in evidence at the inquest.
"Some dangerous practices have developed … with the specific purpose of ensuring that disruption by a deportee prior to takeoff does not prevent removal. This may be symptomatic of the chosen arrangements for paying contractor and in turn employee. That is obviously very concerning indeed."
The report highlights the lack of formal accreditation of some of the guards. One of those escorting Mubenga was not formally accredited but Monaghan said that was part of "agreed practice between G4S and the UK Border Agency."
"The evidence points not to a mere lack of robustness either in the procedures of G4S or the Home Office but to an agreement to dispense with the need for accreditation, apparently to address delays within the UK Border Agency in processing applications for accreditation."
Coles said this was one of the most disturbing aspects of the report. "The evasion of the legal framework on accreditation, essentially circumventing the law, is nothing short of a scandal. It is no wonder the racist culture went unchallenged – the absence of proper structures contributed to a toxic environment where irresponsible and dangerous behaviour could flourish."
The Home Office said it had received the report and would respond "in due course". A G4S spokesman said: "Racism has no place in G4S and when allegations of racism are made against our employees, we take them extremely seriously and always take disciplinary action when appropriate."
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