A RESTRAINT used by an ex-Brook House staff member against a detainee was unjustified, disproportionate and potentially dangerous, an inquiry has heard. 

Yan Paschali, who previously worked at the detention centre near Gatwick, was filmed by a BBC undercover reporter appearing to strangle a suicidal detainee. 

Jonathan Collier, a safe use of force expert who reviewed the incident, said that the technique used by Mr Paschali formed no part of the restraint syllabus. 

Footage showing the former custody officer holding the man’s head between his knees, and his neck between his hands, was disproportionate, potentially dangerous and could be interpreted as Mr Paschali punishing the detainee, the inquiry heard on Wednesday. 

Mr Paschali had previously told the inquiry in evidence that he carried out the restraint to stop the detainee from supposedly swallowing a blade concealed in his mouth.

But Mr Collier said that he did “not buy into” his account. 

“I don’t see how … the action he was carrying out in any way would support that or assist with that at that time,” he said. 

He agreed that Mr Paschali’s actions were deliberate. 

The footage, which featured in a 2017 BBC Panorama documentary, was among a series of incidents of alleged abuse that triggered the current inquiry.