Two asylum centre riot refugees captured

British police hunting for refugees who went missing in the riot and mass break-out attempt at Yarl’s Wood immigration centre today detained two of the absconders.

More than a dozen refugees were thought to be on the run or missing but the exact figure was unknown as the £100m complex’s records were destroyed in the blaze.

Police said they could not rule out the possibility that some of the missing could have died in the fire but there was no evidence of any deaths.

‘‘We have got no information to suggest anyone was in there but it is a possibility,’’ a Bedfordshire Police spokeswoman said.

‘‘It is unlikely to be the case but until we have had a chance to look around we don’t know.’’

Early figures suggested that as many as 23 men and five women had gone missing, but 12 were detained yesterday and another two were discovered today.

Firefighters were still damping down after Thursday night’s disturbance at the immigration removal centre, near Bedford, which is the largest in Europe.

The Immigration Service, Bedfordshire Police and Group 4 have all launched inquiries into the incident, which was estimated to have caused £38 million damage, with some of the newly opened buildings reduced to smouldering ruins.

The heat from the embers is such that police have warned they will not be able to begin their hunt for evidence for days.

It has emerged that the county’s fire brigade recommended that the complex should have a sprinkler system more than a year ago and said design flaws had helped the fire to spread quickly.

Immigration minister Lord Rooker agreed it seemed extraordinary that no water sprinklers were installed at Yarl’s Wood, and an industry group said it could have been done for ‘‘a few tens of thousands of pounds’’.

An insider from the private security sector said Yarl’s Wood was one of a number of immigration centres built quickly in a prefabricated form to meet political demand for extra spaces.

The claim raises questions about the safety of other immigration centres across Britain.

Sir George Pigot, of the Residential Sprinkler Association, said that a sprinkler system should have been fitted at the centre.

‘‘Bedfordshire fire and rescue service made clear recommendations at the time the centre was being built that a sprinkler system would be essential for the safety of a large number of people,’’ he said.

‘‘The technology is simple and reliable and the cost is comparable with that of a heating system.’’

A Home Office spokesman said that it was advised by a number of safety bodies and had put together ‘‘a package of safety measures based on expert advice’’.

A sprinkler system was not part of the package, he said, adding: ‘‘We don’t know what started the fire.

‘‘An investigation is under way, and if lessons need to be learned then they will be.’’

Nick Hardwick, chief executive of the Refugee Council, which has fiercely opposed the use of detention for asylum seekers, said: ‘‘We’re extremely concerned about statements that the Home Office ignored advice from the fire service regarding the structure of the roof and the need for a sprinkler system.

‘‘Families with children and others will have been innocently caught up in these very dangerous events when, in fact, they should never have been there in the first place.’’

The destruction of half the of the Yarl’s Wood buildings leaves Home Secretary David Blunkett’s asylum policy in serious trouble.

Any revamp of the immigration centres would leave him with the major headache of where to house detainees, especially as the prisons in England and Wales are nearing bursting point and yesterday reached an all-time high of 69,195 inmates.

On Thursday night there were 383 people at Yarl’s Wood, which was built last year to house 900, and today about 250 remained at the centre.

The disturbance was believed to have begun at about 8pm on Thursday when officers were attacked and had their keys snatched following an argument in the visitors’ centre.

Six people, including two police officers, were injured in the riot.

One man employed by centre operator Group 4 jumped 15ft through a first floor glass window to escape the blaze, suffering a suspected broken pelvis.

Group 4 confirmed almost all the centre’s several hundred CCTV cameras were smashed and there were also reports that detainees stormed the hi-tech control room to destroy equipment and records.

Spokesman John Bates said keys stolen from two members of staff were used by detainees to open two side gates at the perimeter.

The fact that keys were seized by detainees will add several hundred thousand pounds to the costs because every lock in the jail will have to be changed.

Police have said they will keep officers at the site until they are convinced it is safe to hand control back to Group 4.

:: Residents last night held a peaceful protest outside the gates of the centre one of a series that have been held since the British government first announced its plans for the site.