2022 UK charter deportations: a balance sheet In 2022, the UK deported 1,566 people to nine countries on 62 specially-chartered flights (1) flown by eight airlines (2). The figures are a little higher than 2021, when 1,305 people were deported on 65 charter flights. Combining Freedom of Information requests by Patrice Petit with flight data available via flight tracking websites, Corporate Watch can reveal which companies carried out these flights, and how much money the Home Office paid them to do it. The flights and the people In terms of destinations, deportation charter flights in 2022 followed similar patterns to…
Migration
Mitie detention profiteers: 2023 company profile
Mitie detention profiteers: 2023 company profile Mitie is a major British outsourcing firm providing a mixed bag of “facilities management” contract services to both corporations and government, from cleaning to custodial services. It has been in the spotlight again recently after Manston detention camp, which it operates, became seriously overcrowded and refugees being kept there complained of appalling conditions. In this update of our company investigation on Mitie, we found that: In the last financial year, it reported a record annual turnover of around £4 billion, up 58% since 2021. Mitie now manages 50% of the UK’s migrant detention capacity,…
Air Partner: the Home Office’s little-known deportation fixer
Air Partner: the Home Office’s little-known deportation fixer Air Partner and Carlson Wagonlit are the grease spinning the wheels of the UK deportation machine, organising logistics for mass-deportation flights for years. International travel megacorp Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) holds a £5.7 million, seven-year contract with the Home Office for the “provision of travel services for immigration purposes”, as it has done for nearly two decades. However, a key part of its work – the chartering of aircraft and crew to carry out the deportations – has been subcontracted to a little-known aviation charter outfit called Air Partner. Summary Digging deeper…
Choose Truth: former Choose Love employees speak out
Choose Truth: former Choose Love employees speak out In December 2021, Choose Love cut funding to charities offering vital support to refugees and migrants in Calais and Dunkirk. Despite high-profile celebrity endorsements and an incredible capacity to raise millions for refugees, behind the scenes, all was not as it seemed at Choose Love. A Corporate Watch investigation revealed Choose Love’s relationship with an organisation called Prism the Gift Fund. Prism runs “collective funds” for charities like Choose Love and takes 2% of their income for doing so. Prism also manages donation funds for rich people, who want to give to…
Migrant ‘No’ Help: the Home Office’s charity gatekeeper
Migrant ‘No’ Help: the Home Office’s charity gatekeeper As the government pushes ahead with ever more draconian punishment for people fleeing war, tyranny and persecution, many of us feel compelled to act. While there are countless incredible people working at a grassroots level to support refugees and people seeking asylum, it’s also a field ripe for exploitation. Donating your hard-earned cash to certain migrant charities might not reach the people you’d hoped to help. Even more concerning, your donations might actually enforce the government’s hostile environment policies. This article looking at the charity Migrant Help, is the first in a…