Labour bosses accused of blocking conference vote to force party to close all detention centres

Labour bosses have been accused of a “stitch up” to block an attempt by activists to force the party to close all detention centres.

Motions for next week’s annual conference urge Labour to beef up its existing policy of shutting down only the most notorious institutions – Yarl’s Wood and Brook House.

But they have been deliberately separated into two different subject groupings to, it is alleged, prevent them winning the race to be debated in a “priorities ballot”.

The move was challenged on Monday at a meeting of the conference arrangements committee (CAC) but the objection was “rebuffed”, according to the Labour List website.

Clive Lewis, a Labour shadow minister, attacked any attempt to have the crucial issue of immigration detention “pushed behind closed doors”.

“It seems ridiculous that two motions with very similar purposes – in fact overlapping demands – would be put in separate parts of the conference agenda, risking neither getting prioritised,” he told the website.

“Migrants’ rights are not a side issue – they are a huge and central part of what Labour stands for, especially at a time when the government is drifting to the far right.

“The CAC should look at this again, because there is a real danger of a stitch up being perceived here, on an issue that is crucial and deeply felt by members.”

The row comes amid continuing criticism of the government’s failure to act on controversies in the immigration centres, which hold up to 3,500 people at any one time.

Calls to end indefinite detention – the UK is the only EU country without a statutory time limit – have been rejected, ignoring a recommendation by the Commons human rights committee.

The home office also refused to disclose how many hundreds of trafficking victims have been held, triggering a protest by more than 20 charities which signed an open letter.

Labour announced last year that it would close Yarl’s Wood and Brook House centres, as part of a pledge to finally end Theresa May’s “hostile environment” policy.

The £20m-plus saved would pay for extra services to support the survivors of modern slavery, trafficking and domestic violence, Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said.

But the motions for the Brighton conference would go further by demanding the shutting of all 10 detention centres.

One, promoted by the Labour Campaign for Free Movement (LCFM) and submitted by five local parties, also calls on Labour to promote immigration and extend free movement.

Meanwhile, seven local parties backed a motion, drafted by Labour Against Racism and Fascism (LARAF), to “end the detention estate” and “adopt a community-led response for migrants”.

They have been separated into two separate groupings for the ballot – ‘Immigration’ and ‘Immigration Detention’ – despite sharing the common aim of ending the locking up of would-be migrants and refugees.

Labour has been asked to respond to the suggestion of a “stitch up” that will stymie the attempt to change party policy.