Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre is a detention centre for foreign nationals prior to their deportation from the United Kingdom, one of 13 such centres currently in the UK. It is located near Milton Ernest in Bedfordshire, England, and is operated by Serco, who describe the place as "a fully contained residential centre housing adult women and adult family groups awaiting immigration clearance." Its population is, and has been, overwhelmingly female.

In 2012, more than 28,000 individuals were held in immigration detention [in the UK]. Many were held for only a few days, but more than one third have been held for more than two months, and others have been detained for many months or years. Some 2,000 were women who had sought asylum in the UK. The United Kingdom is one of the few European countries that puts no time limit on such detention.

Yarl's Wood opened on 19 November 2001 with capacity for just over 400 people, making it the largest immigration detention centre in Europe at the time. Initially managed by Group 4 Falck, control passed in May 2004 to Global Solutions Limited (GSL), which was sold off at this time by Group 4 to private equity firms Englefield Capital and Electra Partners Europe.

In 2007, with Yarl's Wood "never having been far from controversy" (a fire in February 2002, for example, gutted the centre, which did not reopen until September the following year), GSL's contract was not renewed, and control was signed over to Serco, who have run Yarl's Wood to the present time. Chris Hyman, then Serco chief executive, said winning the £85m contract "recognises our ability to care for a wide range of detainees". Serious incidents have continued, however, during the Serco period.

In early February 2002, the building was burnt down following a protest by the detainees. This was triggered by someone being physically restrained by staff. According to custody officer Darren Attwood, officers complied with orders to "lock the detainees in the burning building". Five people were injured in the fire.

In December 2001 just after opening the first hunger strike began with twenty five Roma detainees refusing to eat.

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