Home Office contractor investigates claims of staff racism and hate speech

Whistleblowers from Mitie allege some employees have made offensive remarks or liked abusive social media posts

One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned.

Whistleblowers from the company, Mitie, have alleged that some staff members working in immigration removal centres and deporting migrants have made offensive comments at work and in social media posts.

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Home Office immigration contractor failed to investigate racist staff messages

Mitie admits failure to ‘escalate’ whistleblower complaints made two years ago about racist WhatsApp group posts

The Home Office is investigating allegations of racist WhatsApp messages sent by immigration staff, as the contracting firm Mitie admitted that they received complaints two years ago but failed to “escalate them”.

The messages by workers for Mitie, revealed by the Sunday Mirror, include derogatory references to Chinese people and the mocking of the Syrian refugee crisis.

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