Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to the Chief Prisons Inspector’s report saying Yarl’s Wood was failing vulnerable women, said:

“This is a damning report that should prompt urgent action from Theresa May.

"Pregnant women shouldn’t be locked up and people should not be detained indefinitely and for long periods of time at all. This has got to change.

"Yarl’s Wood itself is not fit for purpose. Too many times scandals have been brushed under the carpet or ignored. And this has been going on for too long. It is time for the Home Secretary to look at closing Yarl’s Wood altogether and finding alternatives instead.

"We need strong rules in our immigration system, but they must be enforced humanely and Yarl’s Wood is failing that rule.”