from Evening Standard 2/7/02
by Joe Murphy

Jack Straw personally overruled a senior fire chief who said sprinklers were essential in the Yarl’s Wood detention centre to protect lives, an official inquiry is set to reveal.
The minister decided to open the secure centre for nearly 400 asylum seekers without sprinklers after being told inmates would set them off to cause malicious damage.
Yarl’s Wood, in Bedfordshire, was burned down by detainees, who started fires as cover for a mass escape. The inferno gutted two mixed accommodation blocks and badly damaged others to the tune of £38m. Some sixty inmates are still unaccounted for.
Mr. Straw’s role will be disclosed by Stephen Moore, head of the Prison Service. In 2001, Bedfordshire’s acting fire chief, Jeff Goddard, called for sprinklers to be installed. He said his advice was rejected because sprinklers were too costly and would cause delays. The Home Office said cost did not influence the decision.