Nine staff have been suspended from a G4S immigration centre after claims of abuse and assaults against detainees.
An investigation has also been launched into allegations by the BBC’s Panorama of “chaos, incompetence and abuse” at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, near Gatwick.
The programme claims to have undercover footage showing officers “mocking, abusing and even assaulting detainees” at the facility where drugs are allegedly “rife”.
G4S said nine staff have been suspended pending further investigation.
Jerry Petherick, managing director for custodial and detention services, said: “There is no place for the type of conduct described in the allegations anywhere in G4S.
“Such behaviour is not representative of the many G4S colleagues who do a great job, often in difficult and challenging circumstances, across the country.
G4S said nine staff have been suspended pending further investigation (PA)
“We have not yet been provided with the recorded evidence which forms the basis of the allegations and it is inappropriate for me to pre-judge the outcome of our investigation.
“Once we have seen the evidence and concluded the investigation, I will ensure that we take the appropriate action. We continue to focus on the care and wellbeing of detainees at Brook House.”
The episode is due to air on BBC One at 9pm on Monday.
Brook House is one of two immigration centres run by G4S in the UK and has capacity for 508 adult men.
A view of a detainee room of D Wing at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (PA)
Concerns were raised in the latest inspection, which revealed four men had been held there for more than two years and that the average length of detention had increased from 28 to 48 days.
The report also highlighted issues with the “stark and impersonal” residential units and unsatisfactory sanitary facilities, leading detainees to feel they were being held in prison.
But overall the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke in March said it was an “encouraging” inspection.
Brook House was deemed “reasonably good” in all four healthy establishment tests – safety, respect, activities and preparation for removal or release.
The Medway Secure Training Centre run by G4S in Rochester, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)
It is the latest in a number of scandals to hit the security company, which is responsible for five prisons in England and Wales.
Panorama uncovered alleged abuse and mistreatment of youngsters at a G4S youth detention centre in Kent last year. Medway Secure Training Centre was later judged inadequate by Ofsted inspectors who found young inmates were able to watch sexually-explicit content on television.
Another G4S facility HMP Birmingham was hit by riots in December 2016, some of the worst in a UK prison in years. Inspectors have since found half of inmates feel unsafe at the jail, which has been plagued by drugs and violence.