More than 100 Manston asylum camp guards unable to start work

Recruits on full salary while waiting months for permission to work at Kent site due to lengthy security checks

More than 100 people recruited to work as guards at the Manston camp in Kent have spent months on full pay without being allowed to do any work, the Guardian has learned.

Manston, near Ramsgate, which processes asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats, was hit by a series of crises last year. An outbreak of diphtheria led to one man dying after falling ill with the infection. There were also reports of filthy conditions, assaults by some contractors and groups of asylum seekers being taken from the camp and dumped in the streets of central London.