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Tory lawmakers and local police have warned that the government’s plans to house migrants on barges and on former RAF bases could turn their constituencies into hotbeds for far-right activism.
Home Secretary Suera Braverman is set to unveil the Bivy Stockholm Barge in Dorset later today as the Home Office’s first offshore accommodation for asylum seekers.
Ms Braverman is understood to announce plans to dock up to 506 migrants on a three-story barge in Portland Harbor as part of government efforts to end the use of expensive hotels to house migrants. I’m here.
The country harbor forms one of five major sites across England to be announced by the Home Office as the location of new ‘rudimentary’ asylum housing.
But Tory lawmakers and local police chiefs have expressed “grave concerns” about the plan, saying that the lack of police resources in their new asylum means they could become targets of far-right protests. I warned you that there is.
Conservative MP Edward Lee said I The government’s plan to house between 1,500 and 2,000 asylum seekers at Scampton Air Force Base in the Lincolnshire constituency was announced “without consultation” with local officials.
He warned that local rural communities would be targeted by anti-immigrant protesters without additional police near the RAF Scampton site, which he said the Secretary of the Interior had not yet developed a plan for.
“There are already far-right groups on the prowl in our constituency. They recently infiltrated our base. They post hate propaganda on social media sites. he said. I.
“Nothing is said about the safety of the local population.
Last month, locals living next to a former military base in Lincolnshire were spotted arguing with far-right activists. I confirmed that it would be useful for accommodating immigrants.
In early March, two men were ordered to leave the base by military police after filming themselves on the base, one saying, “For the British, England, stop the genocide of white people.” waving a flag that says
Dorsett police sources also expressed concern that a plan to house about 500 asylum seekers on a water barge in Portland harbor could overwhelm the idyllic local area with far-right demonstrations.
they said I There are “serious concerns” that Bibby Stockholm could attract anti-immigrant protests similar to the recent attacks in Knowsley, which would require a strong police force.
But the senior police chief warned that the interior secretary had not announced funding for additional police resources near the port, and that failure to do so could impact the local tourism industry. The sector is the largest local industry in nearby Weymouth Beach and the surrounding seaside area, accounting for about 10% of employment.
David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector for Borders and Immigration, also said the Home Office risks repeating the disruptions and infections experienced at the Manston Center for Channel Migrants in Kent unless it “plans carefully” new asylum sites. warned that there is
write in Telegraph Today, Mr Neal said, “The department must do a better job of setting up accommodations in Scampton…and other facilities.”
That’s what Tory MPs, local councils and police have all said. I They were “offended” by the way the asylum plan was handled by the Secretary of the Interior.
some said I I first heard of the plans to open an asylum facility in my constituency when I read a newspaper report a few weeks ago and, having not been properly consulted, I am now preparing to launch a legal challenge. It is said that
I The Home Office has reportedly sent Simon Ridley, an intermediate bureaucrat and second permanent secretary to the Ministry of Upgrading, Housing and Communities, to lead engagements with local politicians, including the Council. increase.
Using their emergency powers, they threatened to open a new asylum facility at a former RAF base in Essex by the end of April, capable of accommodating 1,700 single men, and refused demands for documents and evidence. Choose your hometown I They said.
The council asked the judges at any judicial review the decision-making process of the government and the Home Office to lay out the now-abandoned plans to convert the former Royal Air Force base at Lynton-on-Ouse into an asylum centre. We are poised to encourage you to compare your work. , I Was told
The Home Office and the Ministry of Defense have co-operated on the proposal, spending £2 million on preparatory work, including ground surveys and multi-agency involvement. Home Secretary Priti Patel, Immigration Minister Kevin Foster and Home Office Deputy Secretary of State Tricia Hayes all led talks with local councilor Kevin Holinlake.
There was also a bespoke team of civil servants dedicated to responding to Mr. Holinlake and receiving his correspondence, and officials sent locally to hold meetings and conduct public engagements.
Legislators from other areas designated as new asylums also suggested that Ms. Braverman would have to use emergency powers to overturn the planning laws.
Current law requires local governments to obtain planning permits to “significantly” change the use of buildings or land. Local governments are also permitted to hold public consultations on planning applications in which local residents can express their views.
Lee, a Conservative MP from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, said: I: “When the Home Secretary announced the RAF Scampton plan last week, she didn’t say: “Well, we are discussing this. Because it can’t be done, it may not actually be done, and we plan to take it to court under judicial review. ”
Lee joined a consortium of Tory lawmakers to press Braverman to back down, promising to “continue to give the government as much grief as possible” about the plan.
South Dorset Tory MP Richard Drax said: I He was speaking with a lawyer about potential legal challenges to Bibby Stockholm’s plans to take in migrants on barges.
He said Braverman called him “out of the blue” last week to inform him of the plans, and she was unsympathetic to her concerns about the influx of immigrants to the seaside town.
“Here’s the message that was delivered: It’s coming. We have no choice,” he said. “As far as I know, negotiations with private port companies have been going on for some time.