THE UK's largest immigration removal centre (IRC) descended into chaos this morning (Wednesday) hours after a damning report into the appalling conditions inside was published.

Police clashed with detainees after fires were started in the early hours of the morning across all four wings of Harmondsworth, near Heathrow.

Reports from immigrants inside the centre claim specialist detention officers have moved in and are beating detainees in the corridors.

A spokeswoman from the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns reported exclusively to the Hillingdon Times that one detainee in A-wing said they had been locked up in their rooms and that officers were "beating up" people in the corridor.

She said the detainee had told her they had been given no water or food and that they were locked in the wing all night despite the smoke and the heat from the fires.

The spokeswoman added that another detainee in D-wing said he had been left in a courtyard in the cold all night when the disturbance began.

He had received no food and had not been given his medication.

A Home Office spokesman said he had no comment to make in relation to the allegations.

Prison vans lined the outside of the centre as prison officers from across the south of England were drafted in to help manage the escalating situation.

Detainees have spelled the word "Help" out on an open area in the centre.

Police were called in and have closed off roads around the facility.

The incident follows the "poorest report ever issued" by the Chief Inspector of Prisons who exposed a culture of fear, bullying and deprivation of liberties.

Home Office spokesman Owen Bassett said: "A disturbance began late last night at Harmondsworth Immigration Detention Centre.

"A number of specialist officers from prisons across the South of England have been deployed. All four wings of the detention centre are involved in the incident.

"A number of small fires were lit in the early hours of the morning which automatically activated the sprinkler system.

"We are not aware of any injuries to staff or detainees at this time.

"Police have assisted the Prison and Immigration Services by securing the perimeter and there is absolutely no risk to the public."

The bedlam follows the heavily critical report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in the degradation and bullying the 500 detainees suffer in Harmondsworth.

Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, told the Hillingdon and Uxbridge Times that it was diffcult to disbelieve "so many people" telling stories of abuse at the hands of detention officers.

And she said even staff at the IRC were blowing the whistle on their concerns about the mistreatment of detainees.

The report, released on Tuesday, indicates that the majority of detainees feel unsafe, there have been a large number of incidents of physical or verbal abuse based on nationality or cultural background, and some detainees have been banned from religious ceremonies.

Harmondsworth's sordid history includes a hunger strike in protests against detainees' treatment, allegations of assault and the suicide of Eritrean national Bereket Yohannes.

And now Anne Owers has said the culture of "over control and under support" in the centre is "wholly at odds" to the provision of proper care and treatment for the detainees.

She said: "There was an over-use of force in the centre and we were alarmed by the large number of complaints of abuse.

"What also alarmed us was these complaints were rarely very well dealt with.

"So many people were telling us much the same things and even education staff were passing on their concerns.

"There are some good staff there who want things to be run in a better way."

Harmondsworth is the largest IRC in the country, holding around 500 male immigrants, and is regularly used for fast-track immigration cases.

Speaking as the crisis unfolded, MP John McDonnell (Lab, Hayes and Harlington) said that the main concern now was the safety of those inside.

MP John McDonnell said: "It's not just about the report but we also understand it's about the management of the facility.

"What we are worried about is the risk for people's lives inside."

And MP John McDonnell says he also thinks the centre is being run like a prison and wants to see the management brought back into the public sector.

He said: "I'm extremely concerned about the nature of the report and I will be raising the report with goverment ministers.

"It is clearly not being managed appropriately. It is being operated like a prison and not being operated in the way it was envisaged.

"The management of the centre needs to be brought back into the public sector so it will be more professionally managed and more accountable."

Mr McDonnell has now written to Home Secretary John Reid to ask for a meeting as a matter of urgency to address the crisis at Harmondsworth.

In the letter he told Mr Reid that he was "extremely worried for the safety, security and wellbeing of all those connected with the centre including detainees and staff" and called for a review of the managament of the facility.

ddoyle@london.newsquest.co.uk