A cyber attack launched at the end of January saw the Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre’s computer system taken down by hackers. As a result, some of the centre’s 249 detainees were left unable to contact family members or lawyers working on their case.

Run by GEO Group UK, a subsidiary of US multinational GEO Group which operates prisons across the world, the Dungavel centre in South Lanarkshire is Scotland’s only immigration detention centre.

Six weeks on from the incident, the GEO Group UK has yet to get the centre’s computer system up and running again.

Speaking to The Ferret, the Glasgow-based Unity Centre charity expressed “great concern” that the system was still down, and noted there appeared to be a lack of urgency to remedy the situation.

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The charity, which is currently supporting detainees at Dungavel, said that many had been left “isolated” and “legally in the dark.”

A spokesperson for the charity said: “There has been great concern, raised by solicitors and the majority of the people currently detained that we are in contact with, regarding the failure to resolve the IT and communication system problems.

“The systems have been down for the past six weeks and there seems to be no urgency to resolve the problem.

“Detainees we have spoken to have expressed their concern with lack of access to emails and problems with the electronic system that gives them access to the shops to buy necessities such as food and communicating with their loved ones and solicitors.

“More concerning are the reports we hear about the guards being openly cynical about the problem being resolved quickly. This is an unacceptable situation and requires urgent action. It is an issue of liberty and access to justice.”

According to the charity, GEO Group UK made “huge” annual profits, adding “it is a disgraceful failure of their duty of care that they are leaving people isolated and legally in the dark.”

The Unity Centre is now calling on the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) and MPs to intervene and take accountability of the situation.

When The Ferret reached out to GEO Group UK for comment a company spokesperson referred them to the Home Office.

A spokesperson for the Home Office told the publication: “We can confirm that there was an IT incident at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre in late January and we are urgently working to resolve it.

“This is being investigated by Police Scotland and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

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