Dungavel IRC

Dungavel IRC is an immigration removal centre. It opened in 2001, initially under Premier Prison Services, which at that time was a subsidiary jointly owned by Serco and Wackenhut Corporation. The centre continued under Serco management until 2006, when it was taken over by G4S up to 2011. Since September 2011 it has been run by the Geo Group UK under a five year Home Office contract.

List of centre managers

• Ken Paul for Serco from 2004 to 2005 and then for G4S from 2006 to 2011
• John McClure for the Geo Group UK from September 2011 to June 2015 (ongoing)

2003 detention of the Ay family

Four Kudish children from the Ay family were detained for 13 months, mostly in Dungavel. Eight years later they were award a six-figure compensation payout for their detention, which was the longest of any child detainees.

2004 death of Tran Quang Tung

On 23 July 2004, Tran Quang Tung (aka Pham Kim Hoan or Houan), "a 35-year-old Vietnamese man was found hanged in Dungavel immigration removal centre. He had been transferred days earlier from Harmondsworth IRC following the disturbance after the death of Sergey Baranyuk", according to the Institute of Race Relations. "On 18 July he was arrested after a raid on his home and sent to Harmondsworth. A nurse who saw him at Harmondsworth did not know what language he spoke nor did she use an interpreter. On 21 July he was transferred to Dungavel by bus with fifty-nine others after the disturbance. Medical staff who examined him at Dungavel (run by Premier Detention Services) were again unable to communicate with him. When an immigration officer served him with his removal notice, for 27 July, she did not have an interpreter with her. A solicitor saw him on the day of his death and was unable to have any ‘meaningful’ discussion as Tran spoke such little English. The fatal accident inquiry recommended that detained people, who did not speak English well, should have access to interpreters during interviews and that documents should also be translated."