Thousands of asylum seekers will be housed in portacabins and disused barracks under new hardline policies, the Government announced on Wednesday.
Home Office minister Robert Jenrick said migrants would be given “essential living needs and nothing more” as he laid out plans for migrant housing at RAF Scampton near Lincoln, Wethersfield airfield in Essex and at the former Northeye prison in Bexhill.
He said the Government was also “exploring” the possible use of giant barges as other accommodation and “bringing forward proposals” to use the Catterick Garrison barracks in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency as another potential site.
The move threatens to tear up Britain’s reputation for offering a safe haven to people fleeing persecution and has also proved unpopular with senior Conservative MPs who will see the schemes in their constituencies.
But Mr Jenrick defended the plan as vital to tackle the small boats Channel crisis, which saw more than 40,000 people make the perilous journey last year.
He told the Commons that the Government was committed to its “legal obligations” to house the destitute but said “we’re not prepared to go further”.
“Accommodation for migrants should meet their essential living needs and nothing more,” he said. “Because we cannot risk becoming a magnet for the millions of people who are displaced and seeking better economic prospects.”
The minister insisted the sites are “undoubtedly in the national interest” and said only “single adult males” will be forced into the barracks.
The plan aims to reduce the Government’s £2.3bn-a-year hotels bill and discourage people from making the dangerous journey from France.
With local elections just five weeks away on May 4 , Braintree District Council and West Lindsey District Council are drawing up legal action to fight the sites in their areas.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who is MP for Braintree, has previously spoken out against the proposal for Wethersfield airfield.
He said on Wednesday: “Although this decision isn’t the result my constituents and I wanted, I have received assurances that community safety will remain paramount.”
Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh said West Lindsey District Council would issue an “immediate judicial review and injunction” against the “thoroughly bad decision” to house 1,500 asylum seekers at RAF Scampton.
“It is not based on good governance but the politics of trying to do something,” the Gainsborough MP said.
Tory-run West Lindsey District Council said it was “extremely disappointed” by the plans to use Scampton and is “considering all legal options, including urgent judicial review proceedings”.
The plans were going ahead in the Braintree constituency of Foreign Secretary James Cleverly despite him arguing Wethersfield “wasn’t appropriate for asylum accommodation”.
Writing on Facebook on Wednesday, Mr Cleverly said: “Although this decision isn’t the result my constituents and I wanted, I have received assurances that community safety will remain paramount.”
Braintree District Council, which is also controlled by the Conservatives, had already said it was “preparing to apply to the High Court for an interim injunction”.
Ahead of the announcement, multiple newspapers were briefed that ferries and barges would also be used to house asylum seekers.
But Mr Jenrick was not able to set out any imminent plans, with a Government source stressing “nothing has been bought” and there are “no barges or ferries”.
The Refugee Council said it was “deeply concerned” by the plans, branding the suggested accommodation “entirely unsuitable”.
Enver Solomon, the charity’s chief executive, said: “These sites are wholly inadequate places to house vulnerable men, women and children who have come to our country in search of safety.
“We must ensure that people fleeing war, conflict and persecution can access safe, dignified, and appropriate accommodation while in the UK asylum system.
“They are also unworkable and will add yet more cost and chaos to the system.”
