A pregnant woman was detained at the UK border for more than 24 hours with “little meaningful contact”, a damning report into the agency responsible for controlling entry to the country has revealed. Children are being routinely handcuffed by Border Force when they arrive in the UK before they are detained in its short-term holding facilities, which are often in “very poor” condition, inspectors said. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) visited sites at eight seaports and five airports in March – the first time the inspectors had assessed them on a national basis. Inspectors hit out at Border Force, which is part of the Home Office, for an “alarming” lack of oversight as the organisation was unable to tell them how many short-term detention cells it ran or how long detainees were held for. Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, said: “The fact that Border Force senior managers could not even tell us with certainty which of their ports actually had detention facilities suggests an alarming lack of oversight and accountability.” He added: “There is an urgent need for Border Force managers to undertake a comprehensive national audit of detention, to assure themselves and the public that all sites of detention are identified, properly equipped for holding detainees and subject to consistent management.” Migrants detained at airports generally arrived after short flights, usually from Europe, while those stopped at ferry docks arrived on foot or by car, most after “arduous and often dangerous journeys concealed in lorries and containers”, Clarke said. He said staff tried to provide “respectful detention” but added: “These detainees were subsequently held in often very poor conditions. “Local Border Force staff were themselves commonly embarrassed by the low standard of accommodation and lack of facilities.” According to the report, inspectors became aware last year they had not been notified of some short-term holding facilities being used by Border Force. The organisation subsequently provided a list of 11, nine of which were previously unknown to inspectors. Holly Lynch, the shadow immigration minister, said: “The Border Force has come under real pressure in this pandemic – and this is set to increase as quarantine rules are loosened. Once again we are calling on the government to ensure both compassion and competence underpin the work of Border Force.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the criticisms contained in this report seriously and work to make improvements is already under way. “An audit of all Border Force-run short-term holding facilities, which will establish national accommodation standards, was launched last month and new processes for record keeping, to ensure length of detention is kept to a minimum, have been developed.”