Labour has spent £70million on a new migrant detention centre – which is only holding 50 men.

Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre, on the outskirts of the Oxfordshire town of Kidlington, first opened its doors to migrants in December.

It was built to hold up to 160 rejected asylum seekers or foreign criminals awaiting deportation.

But six weeks later, it is operating at less than a third of its capacity.

In its first week of operation, only nine migrants were sent to Campsfield – but this figure is believed to have risen to around 50.

The £70million refurb means the centre is running at a cost of £437,000 per place – funded by the taxpayer.

Reform UK’s policy chief Zia Yusuf has accused Labour of not being serious about removing migrants with no right to stay in Britain.

Mr Yusuf said: “What is clear is that this Labour Government has absolutely no idea on deporting anybody. The evidence is there.

“They keep claiming they lack the capacity in terms of detention facilities, which is obviously not true.

“The reason they have no desire to deport anybody is because the Labour Party are not just in favour of immigration, but they are in favour of illegal immigration, as demonstrated by the fact that small-boat arrivals hit a record in Keir Starmer’s first year.

“Not only would we dramatically ramp up detention capacity but we would also ramp up deportations until every single migrant was deported.”

The Home Office insists it is gradually increasing the number of beds in use at Campsfield, arguing the phased approach was necessary to avoid disruption as new detainees arrived under newly-recruited staff.

A spokesman for the department said: “The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in modern times.

“This will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants, which will make it easier to remove and deport them.

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“This Government is scaling up removals of people with no right to be here – with nearly 50,000 already removed.

“Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre is the first step in a major expansion of secure detention facilities, delivering on our pledge to secure our borders and protect the public.”

There are currently eight Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) operating across Britain.

Three Short Term Holding Facilities (STHFs) are also in use, situated in Manchester, Lincolnshire and County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

While migrants held at STHFs can be held for up to seven days before being deported or released, IRCs have no such limit, allowing for indefinite detention.

In 2022, 95 per cent of all illegal migrants held in detention were subsequently released onto the streets of Britain.

The Government has promised to phase out the use of expensive asylum hotels by 2029, despite the number of asylum seekers housed in such accommodation continuing to rise each year.

The Home Office is now expected to accelerate hotel closures from the spring, under plans first reported by The i Paper.

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