Fresh abuse allegations at G4S youth custody unit

Police were first alerted to claims of “unnecessary use of force and the use of improper language” in January as a result of a BBC Panorama investigation into the STC.

Five men are currently on police bail after four of them were arrested on suspicion of child neglect, and a fifth was held on suspicion of assault.

But now a report put together by East Sussex Council states that fresh allegations have been made.

"There was only one young person from East Sussex placed in Medway STC during the period in which the filming for the [BBC Panorama] programme took place," the report states.

"This young person was not involved in any of the incidents and has been asked explicitly but has not reported any concerns.

"Another young person from East Sussex has made allegations since the programme has been aired."

The report said the allegations are now being investigated through the local authority designated officer (LADO) in Medway and via the police, with the support of East Sussex children’s services department and the local authority's youth offending team.

It is understood the allegations relate to a young person held at the centre last year and have been referred to local safeguarding authorities.

In February, the private security firm that runs Medway, G4S, announced that it plans to sell its children’s services business.

The move will see the sale of 13 children’s homes run by the company as well as the contracts to manage and run Medway STC and Oakhill STC in Milton Keynes.

Paul Cook, managing director for children's services at G4S, said: "We continue to support the work of Kent Police and aren't able to comment on the detail of any particular case.

"While we recently announced our intention to exit children’s services, including at Medway, we remain committed to the welfare of young people at the centre and responding to the serious issues raised at the beginning of the year.

“Since the issues were identified at Medway earlier this year, we have been working hard to review every aspect of our recruitment, training, reporting and governance processes and it is encouraging that the Youth Justice Board (YJB) have started to place young people at the centre once again."