Nearly a thousand asylum seekers will be housed in military barracks from next month amid mounting pressure on the Labour Government to end the use of hotels. Discussions are underway to have 900 men stay in two army sites—one in Scotland and one in Southern England.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has instructed Home Office and Ministry of Defence officials to accelerate work to locate appropriate military sites, the BBC understands. The Home Office confirmed on Monday that the plans will see men housed at Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex. Both sites were used to accommodate Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 while they were resettled elsewhere, with that work ending earlier this year.
Crowborough Training Camp contains barrack accommodation for up to 1,200 people and various firing ranges and training facilities.
The Government agency will then work with the Ministry of Defence to find several more disused sites. Industrial sites, temporary accommodation, and otherwise disused accommodation are also in contention as cheaper and more “appropriate” than hotels.
It is understood that all sites would comply with health and safety standards and the use of army sites will be temporary.
Small boat arrivals will be sent to the two sites by the end of next month, with the Home Office hoping to house 10,000 migrants on military sites, say The Times.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.
“This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well under way, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”
The use of military barracks is hoped to be seen as a deterrefor migrants making the crossing across the Channel as officials hope the accommodation will be less appealing than hotels.
Just a couple of days ago the Sunday Express revealed that more than 90% of councils ll be housing asylum seekers by the end of this year. Unemployed male migrants will be living “at taxpayers’ expense in communities across the country”, critics warned.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp: “It’s a national disgrace that the Government is actively planning to have asylum-claiming illegal immigrants housed across almost the entire country.
“This weak Government has lost control of our borders, and now almost every community is going to have to pay the price.”
