This is the moment two asylum-seekers threatened to jump off a building at an ex-RAF base that had been converted to an accommodation site.
The shocking scenes come amid warnings of a ‘mental health crisis’ at the RAF Wethersfield site amidst a rise in self-harm and suicide attempts.
There were between five and 10 suicide attempts and 10 incidents of self-harm in January 2024 alone at the site in Essex, according to charities operating on the site.
But Home Secretary James Cleverly rejected the claims and suggested the asylum-seekers weren’t telling the truth about their mental state in a bid to get relocated.
The video of asylum-seekers threatening to jump comes after the site has undergone other controversies including claims fights break out every night with refugees even staging a protest over the ‘prison-like’ conditions in November.
In the video, obtained by ITV News, the asylum-seekers are seen standing on the third floor of a building claiming they are preparing to jump while emergency services surround them.
The men are eventually talked down from the ledge by security guards.
Another clip in the video shows one man collapse from a hunger strike getting wheeled from the site in a stretcher.
Other clips showed security guards arguing with some asylum-seekers.
While another shocking scene shows a man claiming to have fled the Taliban tell a reporter ‘everyone just wanted to kill themselves’.
Wethersfield is the current home of 580 males and is one of a number of mass accommodation sites being used alongside hotels to house asylum seekers while they wait for their claim to be processed.
Due to their remote location away from local communities they have proved controversial.
Other sites include the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset which has been operating since last summer. In December, asylum seeker Leonard Farruku was found dead on the Bibby Stockholm, with police confirming there were no suspicious circumstances.
Another former RAF base in Scampton will soon open, along with former student accommodation in Huddersfield.
Most of the men in the sites have arrived in the UK from small boats, and are currently stuck in limbo, as the government’s new Illegal Migration Act means the Home Office won’t consider the claims of those who arrive in the UK via small boats.
One asylum seeker spent over six months at Wethersfield before being removed because of his deteriorating mental health.
The 25-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous, came over to the UK in a small boat in September 2023 after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. He fled after the Taliban shot him and killed his brother.
He told ITV News: ‘I was thinking we’re in prison, we’re coming to the prison. What did we do wrong?.
He told the channel about how his mental health had worsened while he was at the site.
Despite never having any previous mental health issues, he was diagnosed with depression at Wethersfield, and even tried to take his own life by jumping from a window.
‘I tried because I was very depressed,’ he said.
Wethersfield’s costs have also spiralled to more than 10 times the size that was originally planned.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said in March the Home Office originally estimated set-up costs would be £5 million, but they increased to £49 million.
The report also said there had been 283 incidents relating to ‘self-harm and suicide’ at large sites like Wethersfield by the end of January 2024.
Charity Doctors of the World parks up outside Wethersfield three days a week in medical van to treat residents.
The charity said while there are medical services on site, they don’t provide adequate care for the vulnerable asylum seekers living there.
A survey of 122 patients revealed 70 per cent were presenting with severe psychological distress and 41 per cent were experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Clinical Director Becks Kerr told ITV News: ‘if you put people in a place like this, you’re asking for a mental health crisis.’
Meanwhile law firm Duncan Lewis is bringing a case against the Home Office claiming it has failed to properly assess whether vulnerable people should be living at Wethersfield.
Home Secretary James Cleverly rejected claims of a mental health crisis at Wethersfield, saying it did not align with the reports his department had been receiving.
He said: ‘Of course the people in Wethersfield often say things they hope will have them relocated.
‘We take conditions at all our facilities incredibly seriously, we want to make sure they’re safe. And of course what we want to do is make sure we no longer need sites like Wethersfield, that’s why we’ve committed to crack down on immigration.’
Last week Home Office data showed a record 10,170 people have arrived in the UK so far this year after crossing the Channel in small boats.
The Home Office states Wethersfield has on-site healthcare delivered by a local healthcare provider which is run by health care professionals who are able to prescribe medication.
Officials argue Wethersfield is not a detained site and asylum seekers are free to come and go.
There is also a regular transport service in place to take residents to larger local cities.
They point out the accommodation meets all relevant housing and health and safety standards.
There are also communal spaces, including faith and worship facilities and a large gymnasium to allow for recreational and sporting activity.
The food provided meets NHS Eatwell standards and responds to all cultural and dietary requirements.
A Home Office spokesperson told : ‘We take the safety and welfare of those at Wethersfield extremely seriously.
‘Welfare officers are on site round the clock and all residents have access to a GP service delivered by a local healthcare provider including mental health support. A 24/7 helpline provided by Migrant Help is available to raise any concerns.’
The most recent claims of a mental health crisis at Wethersfield comes after video footage in December reportedly showed fights erupting between men at the asylum centre – with chairs thrown and one man suffering a bloodied face.
An anonymous asylum seeker said the centre on the former military base ‘has many, many problems’, adding that ‘no one on the camp is feeling safe’.
It comes after migrants housed at the centre staged a recent protest over ‘its ‘prison-like’ conditions, complaining they were freezing due to poor clothing and bedding and didn’t have access to doctors.
The asylum seeker told the BBC there has been ‘almost nightly fighting with another nationality, because the number of people is many’.
A few of the minibuses transporting the migrants to the nearby centres of Colchester, Braintree and Chelmsford have allegedly had their windows smashed and damaged on the base.
The reports of fighting come after migrants billeted at the former military base held a protest last month over the ‘prison-like’ conditions.
About 40 men demonstrated outside the site, complaining they didn’t have access to doctors, were freezing and unable to contact their families.
They noisily chanted ‘Wrong plan, wrong place’ and ‘It’s like a prison’ during the protest.
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