Asylum seekers are to receive funded legal representation in a series of failed investigations into a center in Kent handling small boat arrivals, after detainees launched a legal challenge.

Manston is a short-term detention facility outside Ramsgate that was established in January 2022 to house the growing number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel to the UK in small boats.

By the second half of that year, the situation had descended into chaos. Despite reports that ministers at the time were repeatedly warned of the unfolding crisis, problems continued for several months from late summer 2022 until a temporary closure in November of that year.

Sixteen Manston detainees have challenged Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to downgrade the investigation into the incident from a statutory open inquiry to a non-statutory inquiry, which can compel witnesses to attend Give evidence under oath without having to fund legal representation. Asylum seekers involved.

But just days before the High Court hearing, the Home Office agreed to "escalate" the investigation again.

In a High Court order reached this week, the Home Office agreed that a publicly conducted independent inquiry, which would include funding legal representation for the claimants, would be carried out "as it deems appropriate" as the appointment of a chairperson of the inquiry has not yet been confirmed, and "Effective access to files" This remains a non-statutory investigation.

The situation at Manston became even more dire in autumn 2022, when the site, which was designed to have a maximum capacity of 1,600 people, actually accommodated 4,000 people.

Overcrowding led to outbreaks of diphtheria and scabies. Asylum seekers are forced to sleep on dirty floors or on crushed cardboard boxes, while toilets are filled with feces. Women and children were forced to sleep in close proximity to unrelated men and were allegedly assaulted by guards.

Of the total 29,000 people processed between June and November 2022, approximately 18,000 were detained beyond the 24-hour limit. The maximum period of detention is 32 days.

On November 19, Hussein Haseeb Ahmed, a Kurdish asylum seeker being processed in Manston, died in hospital after contracting diphtheria.

Asylum seekers and human rights groups have called for a full investigation into matters at Manston but have encountered various obstacles.

In November 2022, asylum seekers held there requested a public inquiry. In March 2024, then Home Secretary James Cleverly agreed to a statutory public inquiry. Cooper's decision upon taking office to pursue a non-statutory investigation rather than require public hearings was seen as a way to save money.

Lewis Kate, a solicitor at Duncan Lewis, said: "The investigation is vital to ensuring lessons are learned and a repeat of the Manston crisis is avoided."

In separate legal proceedings, more than 100 former detainees held at Manston for more than 24 hours are suing the Home Office for illegal detention there. Settling the claims could cost the government tens of millions of pounds.

The Home Office declined to comment on this week's High Court order, although sources said it was committed throughout to conducting a Article 3 investigation into inhuman or degrading treatment into Manston's matter.