The politician arrived by helicopter at the migrant processing facility at Manston Airfield (Picture: Getty)
Suella Braverman was met with boos as she landed at Manston immigration centre in a Chinook helicopter today.
The home secretary visited the Western Jet Foil site in Dover, Kent, which was hit by a petrol bomb attack on Thursday, before heading to the so-called processing facility.
It is yet unclear why the politician used a helicopter to travel to Manston but she has already been criticised on social media for being ‘totally destructive’ to the environment.
A one-hour ride on the military Chinook is believed to cost £3,500, needing more than 1,000 litres.
Ms Braverman spent the day touring immigration centres in Kent amid worldwide criticism over her claim Britain faced an ‘invasion’ of migrants.
Her visit to Manston comes just hours after it was revealed that the Home Office is facing a judicial review over the conditions there.
Detention Action also said it had sent a pre-action legal letter to her office, together with a woman detained at the facility.
Ms Braverman (left) during a visit to the migrant processing centre in Dover (Picture: PA)
She arrived in a Chinook helicopter for a visit to the Manston immigration short-term holding facility (Picture: PA)
A statement from the charity said: ‘We have taken this action out of serious concern for the welfare of thousands of people, including children, still being detained at Manston for periods far beyond legal limits.
‘We are calling on the home secretary to declare that anyone held at Manston for more than 24 hours is being detained unlawfully.
‘We are asking the home secretary allow access to the facility for organisations qualified to provide support in immigration detention settings.’
The former RAF base is designed for about 1,000 people to be housed for short periods of time while undergoing security, identity and health checks.
Ms Braverman is battling to get a grip on the chaos in the asylum system (Picture: PA)
But according to Diana Johnson MP, chair of the Home Affairs Committee, 4,000 are currently held there.
Government minister Graham Stuart conceded the site was not operating legally and ‘none of us are comfortable with it’.
He also acknowledged there had been ‘unfortunate language’ used to describe the crisis after Ms Braverman’s comments.
But he sought to blame an ‘unacceptable surge’ in small boat crossings for the problem, adding that the ‘system is struggling to cope’.
A young girl runs towards the fence carrying a message in a bottle describing conditions inside the Manston (Picture: PA)
People attend a vigil calling for the immigration processing centre to be closed (Picture: Reuters)
Ms Braverman shied away from speaking to the press during her morning visit to Western Jet Foil.
But Chancellor Jeremy Hunt insisted she is prepared to ‘face the music’ over the migrant crisis.
The grim conditions at Manston were laid bare in a handwritten letter thrown by a young girl over the wired fence, claiming there were pregnant women and sick detainees there.
She wrote: ‘We are in a difficult life now… we fill like we’re in prison. Some of us very sick… ther’s some women’s that are pregnant they don’t do anything for them. We really need your help. Please help us.’
More: News
Downing Street said that while Ms Braverman was there she would ‘speak with staff and receive an update on the situation on the ground’.
A spokesperson defended her use of a helicopter during her visit to Dover.
They said: ‘The Home Secretary was in Dover to receive an update on operations on the ground. That obviously involved operations in the Channel.
‘She travelled on a military aircraft to see the area of operations at sea.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
‘We are calling on the home secretary to declare that anyone held at Manston for more than 24 hours is being detained unlawfully.’
