On 19 March 2024, the government published its response to the findings and recommendations of the Brook House Inquiry.  

 Medical Justice, who was appointed as a Core Participant to the Inquiry, is extremely concerned by the government’s response. We have created the briefing below to draw these concerns to the attention of parliamentarians. 

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Government’s response to the Brook House Inquiry report – analysis for parliamentarians

The analysis shows that of the Inquiry’s 31 recommendations directed to the government across ten sub-topics:  

 

  • Only one recommendation appears to have been fully accepted (Recommendation 14). It is important to note that this recommendation only requires the Home Office to ensure staff are aware of a current policy (that the technique of handcuffing detained people with their hands behind their back while seated is not permitted, given its association with positional asphyxia). It does not require any change to policy or practice.  
  • One recommendation (Recommendation 7) has been explicitly rejected by the government 
  • For five recommendations (Recommendations 5, 16, 19, 22, and 27), no information is provided at all.  
  • For one recommendation (Recommendation 30) the information provided suggests the recommendation has been rejected.  
  • For the remaining 23 recommendations, the information provided either appears to simply state already existing policy (Recommendations 2, 4 and 20), does not relate to Home Office activity (Recommendations 8 and 20,) and/or does not offer enough detail to allow a conclusive assessment (Recommendations 1-3, 6, 9-13, 15, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, and 32). 

 

Medical Justice is extremely troubled by how few of the Inquiry’s recommendations appear to have been fully accepted, and how little information has been provided by the government in its response. When establishing the Inquiry, the government committed to ensuring “that lessons are learnt to prevent these shocking events happening again”. The government’s response to the Inquiry suggests that this commitment to learning lessons is not being upheld.  

Medical Justice urges parliamentarians to seek further information as quickly as possible from the Home Secretary and relevant senior officials regarding the government’s response. We hope that the briefing can be of help ensuring this.