THE UK Government has been urged to reverse its "inhumane" decision to close a dedicated immigration family unit and give reassurances that the child detention facility at Dungavel near Glasgow will not be reopened.

The call to Amber Rudd, the home secretary, has been made by Alistair Carmichael, the former Scottish secretary and home affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who described the Government’s decision to close the Barnado’s-run Cedars Unit near Gatwick Airport as a “huge step backwards”.

The SNP also expressed alarm at the move, which it denounced as “disgraceful,” and a sign that the Conservative Government had reneged on its pledge to end child detention.

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Earlier this week, on the last day of sitting before the Commons went into its summer recess, Robert Goodwill, the home office minister, announced the closure of the Cedars unit and its replacement by a new “pre-departure accommodation unit” near Gatwick Airport at the Tinsley House immigration removal centre.

In a written statement, he said that, following a review, while it was recognised that the Cedars unit was an exceptional facility, it accepted on “value for money grounds” that it should be closed.

The minister emphasised that the Government had met its commitment to “end the routine detention of children for immigration purposes” by fundamentally changing the way in which it dealt with families, who had no lawful basis to stay in the UK and limiting the detention of unaccompanied children for removal.

Mr Goodwill added: “The Government is committed to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of those detained in its care, some of whom may be vulnerable. It is very grateful to Barnardo’s for all its valuable work with families at Cedars and for working with us to ensuring that the new facility continues to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and builds on the learning and experience of Cedars.”

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Mr Carmichael pointed out how one of the first things his party did during the Coalition Government was to force Theresa May, the then home secretary, to end the detention of immigrant children. “Days after coming to power, she has thrown away years of progress,” he declared.

The Orkney and Shetland MP went on: “What this decision means in practice is a return to a situation where young children will find themselves in detention centres surrounded by razor wire and guards. This is a huge step backwards.”

Tinsley House is a secure detention centre surrounded by a chain-link fence, run by G4S, and has been described as resembling a prison.

“Previously, we had seen some children locked up at Dungavel for more than a year and there were damning reports on the level of educational support provided to children at the site. The last thing we need is a return to a situation where young people in the immigration system are treated like cattle, not children,” said Mr Carmichael.

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He added: “The Prime Minister needs to scrap her plans to close Cedars and we need urgent assurances that this inhumane decision will not open the door to a return to child detention at Dungavel.”

SNP MSP Sandra White is equally concerned and said moving children to the “prison-style Tinsley House” was a regressive and callous move.

“I urge the UK Government to reconsider its policy, to end child detention and to start treating people of all ages with the dignity and respect that they deserve. There is no place for prison-style facilities like Tinsley House or Dungavel in our society and it is clear that they help no one,” she added.