DETAINEES at immigration removal centres including Campsfield House in Kidlington are suffering “a terrible human cost” because of long stays, according to a new report.

Campaign group London Detainee Support last night called for a maximum detention time of 28 days and said Campsfield House should only be used for those facing deportation.

Spokesman Alexis Wood said conditions there were “prison-like”.

There have been several breakouts and hunger strikes at Campsfield House since it was converted into an immigration removal centre in 1993.

David Wood, the UK Border Agency’s strategic director for criminality and detention, said: “We seek to remove those people with no legal right to be in the UK as quickly as possible and detention is only used for the shortest possible time.

“However, where detainees refuse to co-operate with the removal or deportation process, they can cause their detention to be prolonged.

“Every detention decision is made on a case by case basis and is reviewed regularly.”