Detainees at a controversial detention centre are being paid only £1 per hour working as cleaners and kitchen staff, it has been revealed.

The Home Office confirmed that is the hourly rate for detainees at Campsfield House in Kidlington, which falls far below the national minimum wage of £5.52.

But it said none of the detainees were forced to work.

However, Gill Baden, a member of the Campaign to Close Campsfield and a volunteer for Bail for Illegal Immigrants, said she was appalled at the news.

She said: "People are being exploited while they are forcibly detained there.

"People detained there have nothing to do and many of them are desperate for money. There is no time limit on how long they can be detained and there is very little for them to do."

Ms Baden, who regularly visits detainees, said she was aware several had jobs cleaning and working in the kitchen at the detention centre.

She added: "They are destitute and even being paid at that rate, people are willing to do it."

The Home Office spokesman said that under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, detainees are exempt from earning the national minimum wage.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "All detained persons are provided with an opportunity and encouraged to participate in activities to meet, as far as possible, their recreational and intellectual needs.

"Paid work is provided in accordance with the Detention Centre Rules 2001 and is just one activity offered, with others including educational classes, recreation and physical education."