WATCH: Protest calls for immigration centre in Bedford to close

Thousands of people travelled to the site, on a former RAF base, and stood for several hours in one of the largest protests organised by Movement for Justice.

They are calling for the closure of Yarl’s Wood, waving and shouting support to the women asylum seekers held indefinitely inside the centre.

Those inside the facility ‘responded enthusiastically’ by shouting and waving back from the prison blocks behind the high fence.

Several spoke to the protesters on mobile phones, including one woman who has been held there for over two years.

Many of those who spoke at the protest had previously been held inside this and other immigration prisons, and encouraged those inside to keep fighting for justice.

One protester, said: “People don’t know about the things that go on in there, there’s abuse that goes on and it is disgusting.

“Yarl’s Wood has become a symbol for the immigration system, we want to shut it down.”