FIRE safety measures need to be upgraded, staff training is below par and detainees are not given proper freedom of movement or contact with the outside world.

That's the verdict of a damning report of the Home Office's own immigration removal centre (IRC) at Haslar.

About 165 asylum seekers are said to live at the centre unacceptable conditions with little privacy.

There were also major concerns over suicide prevention after the death of a resident since the last inspection.

Despite the failings, inspectors say there have been significant improvements at the detention centre in Dolphin Way, Gosport, with many previous recommendations achieved.

But campaigners have condemned the report, saying it masks the real issue of asylum seekers being detained in appalling conditions.

Rosie Bremer, of pressure group Bail For Immigration Detainees, said: "I wouldn't expect a Home Office report to be particularly independent. I only know from working with detainees at Haslar how angry, anxious and frustrated they are.

"They are not criminals but they are treated as such.

"Whatever improvements they've made, it doesn't alter the fact that people seeking asylum are kept in these conditions after all the traumatic experiences they've been through."

Michael Woolley, of the Haslar Visitors Group, added: "The fire risk is a very serious problem and we're very surprised it hasn't been picked up before, especially as fires started at other centres were put out by sprinkler systems and Haslar has none.

"We've been saying the accommodation is unacceptable for years.

"As for the lack of welfare support, people are detained without the opportunity to pick up belongings, say goodbye to friends or get money out of a bank. They are sent back to often third world countries destitute in what they stand up in."

The author of the report, prison inspector Anne Owers, said: "Relationships between staff and detainees had improved, routine strip-searching had stopped, healthcare had improved considerably, and there had been some developments in suicide prevention and anti-bullying practice.

"However, there remained some significant failings, not all of them within the control of centre managers. The most serious was the failure to implement a fire risk assessment which recommended, as a priority, the installation of a fire detection system in the dormitories.

"The condition of much of the accommodation, particularly the dormitories, was simply unacceptable and afforded little privacy. If Haslar is to continue in use, it is essential that its accommodation should be made safe."

A fire detection system will now be installed in the dormitories. The report follows an unannounced follow-up inspection of Haslar IRC. The last full inspection was in February 2002.