An immigration centre with more than 400 detainees was evacuated yesterday after it was damaged during a riot.

Police and prison officers took 15 hours to regain full control of Harmondsworth immigration removal centre, near Heathrow.

A Home Office spokesman described the damage as "superficial" and said that it was hoped to reopen the centre within "a matter of weeks".

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the government is paying about £2 million a week to keep homes on stand by for asylum seekers.