The chief inspector of prisons has slammed the "disgraceful" conditions in an immigration removal centre.

In a report published on Wednesday, Anne Owers said the conditions and culture of Lindholme removal centre raise questions about whether it is, or can be, an appropriate place to hold immigration detainees.

The immigration removal centre (IRC) in South Yorkshire is attached to and run as part of Lindholme prison.

As a result, said the report, it was "locked into a Prison Service culture".

"Lindholme was one of the IRCs about which we had most concern in our initial round of announced inspections in 2002," said Owers.

"It had not succeeded in shedding prison culture or procedures and was deficient in all four of our key tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release.

"This follow-up inspection showed that few of those changes had been achieved.

"The establishment was still locked into a Prison Service culture in relation to officers' attitudes, reference to 'prison rules' and prison policies, and regimes that fitted prison officers' shift patterns rather than the needs of detainees."

She added that perhaps the most shocking aspect of the inspection was "the filthy and dilapidated state of many of the communal areas".

"Paint was peeling, floors had ingrained dirt, and all of the telephone rooms – very important for detainees' contact with the outside world – were in a disgraceful state."

Slow progress

Other issues highlighted in the report covered the transfer of detainees to the segregation unit of the prison, low payments to detainees and library access that failed to meet minimum standards.

"Overall, little had been done to improve the unsatisfactory environment on which we reported a year ago," said Owers.

"It must be questionable whether managers at Lindholme have the capacity to effectively manage an IRC as well as the increasingly difficult task of running a pressurised prison.

"There are improvements that can and should be made – for example, the appointment of a full-time centre manager to ensure that basic standards of safety and decency are met.

"But we recommend that the [Immigration and Nationality Directorate] should seriously examine whether Lindholme is, or can be, an appropriate place to hold immigration detainees."

Responding to the report, Home Office minister Des Browne said he took the criticisms "very seriously" and added that discussions on improving the situation were already underway.

"This includes the report's finding that Lindholme IRC is locked into a Prison Service culture and will discuss with the Prison Service the need to introduce specific training for prison officers who work in the centre," he said.

Browne added that officials were "looking to identify ways in which the centres might best be operated for the future".

But he defended the need for detention as "vital" to the management of an effective immigration system.