Inmates at an immigration detention centre in Kidlington called 'Thank you' and 'Freedom' from their windows yesterday at a 120-strong crowd below.

The demonstration at Campsfield Detention Centre was organised by the Campaign to Close Campsfield to mark 23 years since the first detainees were brought to the site by bus on November 29, 1993.

About 280 people including refugees and asylum seekers are currently being held on no time limit at the centre.

Protesters also brought along a banner displaying a phone number for detainees to call and speak to them. Their words were amplified to the crowd by a PA system.

Speakers and representatives from a range of movements including Oxford Migrant Solidarity, Oxford City of Sanctuary, Oxford University Amnesty, Hackney Migrant Centre and others were also present and a supportive message from Andrew Smith, the MP for Oxford East, was read out.

The demonstration was followed by a 'Barbed Wire Britain' meeting at nearby Exeter Hall where campaigners listened to the latest news from the Calais migrant camp, recently dismantled by the French government.