ASYLUM seekers from eastern Europe will today go on hunger strike in protest against conditions in the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre.

Their action comes a fortnight after the chief inspector of prisons ranked the Gosport centre the worst in the country.

In her report, Anne Owers condemned the holding centre for not meeting the needs of men awaiting deportation and making them feel "unsafe".

The group of men - some of whom have been kept at the centre for more than a year - will refuse food for the next three days.

They have also sent letters to the Home Office complaining about:

Bad food often not properly cooked

An inadequate medical service

Being locked in cells for up to 16 hours a day

Lack of staff involvement

Michael Woolley, chairman of the Haslar Visitors' Group, said he was not surprised the detainees were organising a hunger strike.

"It's the only way they can do anything to make their situation known. They pray and go on hunger strike.

"These men have not been charged with any crime. They are being held indefinitely without charge for purely administrative convenience."

Mr Woolley, who recruits volunteers to visit asylum seekers at the 160-bed centre, said living conditions had worsened since Haslar was turned from a prison into a removal centre last year.

"You can see the men visibly sinking. Eventually their cheeks draw in and eyes get duller," he said. We see them at their best when they are glad to have a visit from someone."

The Home Office insists improvements are being made to bring the centre up to the standards of four others across the country.

Over the last few months a billiard table has been provided in a communal area, curtains have been put up and some improvements have been made to the heating.

However, the Haslar Visitors' Group is continuing to press for greater funding, arguing that the Home Office spends less per man at Haslar than it does at any other immigration removal centre.