Manston asylum seekers suspected of diphtheria 'moved to UK' as cases rise

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman is under further pressure following a report that dozens of asylum seekers suspected of diphtheria have been transferred from Manston to hotels across the UK.

Officials are expected to confirm on Monday that the number of cases of the highly contagious bacterial infection has risen to around 50 amid concerns about the spread of the disease.

< p>More than 70 suspected cases of diphtheria have been seen among migrants who have been moved from the Kent processing facility to hotels across the country in recent weeks, according to the Sunday Times.

Jim McManus, president of the Association of Public Health Directors, said he had "put asylum seekers and potentially hotel workers at an avoidable and preventable risk".

Claim for an offer to help the government deal with the epidemic has been

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Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said Ms Braverman 'must take responsibility and resign immediately' over the 'scandal' surrounding Manston.

"The Kingdom -Uni is better than that. The Conservative government should be ashamed of its ruthless complacency over the health and welfare of asylum seekers coming out of Manston," she said.

The Cabinet Minister Mark Harper said there was "extremely low risk to the whole community" of diphtheria despite the outbreak.

Despite the possibility that the disease has spread to dozens of cases, Mr Harper told Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “My understanding is these cases were people who had this disease before they came to the UK.”

The Government revealed on Saturday that a PCR test on a man who died after being detained - possibly illegally - at the Manston center for a week showed "diphtheria may be the cause of the disease".

The Independent understands that an update taking into account the number of diphtheria cases among recent arrivals up to Friday will put the figure was around 50. Officials could not rule out that the number of suspected cases was higher.

Separately, Ms Braverman warned that millions of pounds could ...