https://sputnikglobe.com/20230814/british-ex-home-secretary-slams-plan-to-house-1700-migrants-at-raf-airbase-1112587469.html
British Ex-Home Secretary Slams Plan to House 1,700 Migrants at RAF Airbase
British Ex-Home Secretary Slams Plan to House 1,700 Migrants at RAF Airbase
Sputnik International
With more than 100,000 people trafficked to the UK across dangerous seas over the past five years, the government is struggling to find suitable accommodation. Reception centres have been overwhelmed and hotels are packed.
2023-08-14T17:18+0000
2023-08-14T17:18+0000
2023-08-14T17:18+0000
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Former British home secretary has attacked plans to house asylum seekers at a disused RAF air base near her constituency.Priti Patel wrote to current Home Secretary Suella Braverman and junior Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick on Monday to protest plans to turn the Wethersfield airfield site into a "migrant camp" for up to 1,700 asylum claimants over the next five years, accusing the government of being "evasive" and "secretive".Wethersfield, north of Braintree in Essex, is close to Patel's Witham constituency.The Conservative MP said that the ministry had never made the period of use clear during previous consultations with local residents — or even in response to three Parliamentary questions she asked on the matter.She said that vague official statements that the use of the site was 'under review' only "suggests that the Government is being secretive about its intentions," insisting that "the local community and partners need to know what the Government’s plans are."Patel also demanded to know how long the airfield would be used as a migrant camp, along with details of the projected financial impact in value-for-money and cost-per-bed terms."Clear answers now need to be provided by the Home Office and the Government must be transparent rather than evasive," Patel said. "The lack of clarity has been alarming and staggering."The government's plan to house up to 400 single men trafficked to the UK — and now claiming political asylum — on the Bibby Stockholm hotel barge in Portland harbour, Dorset, suffered a setback on Friday after legionella, the bacteria that causes legionnaires' disease, was found in the vessel's water supply.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230812/six-migrants-dead-and-50-rescued-after-boat-crash-off-french-coast-1112556771.html
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British Ex-Home Secretary Slams Plan to House 1,700 Migrants at RAF Airbase
With more than 100,000 people trafficked to the UK across dangerous seas over the past five years, the government is struggling to find suitable and cost-effective accommodation. Reception centres have been overwhelmed and hotels are packed.
Former British home secretary has attacked plans to house
asylum seekers at a disused RAF air base near her constituency.
Priti Patel wrote to current Home Secretary Suella Braverman and junior Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick on Monday to protest plans to turn the Wethersfield airfield site into a
"migrant camp" for up to 1,700 asylum claimants over the next five years, accusing the government of being "evasive" and "secretive".
Wethersfield, north of Braintree in Essex, is close to Patel's Witham constituency.
The Conservative MP said that the ministry had never made the period of use clear during previous consultations with local residents — or even in response to three Parliamentary questions she asked on the matter.
"Throughout our discussions on the site and in the engagement that Home Office officials have had with local partners, no clarity has been provided on the length of time that the Home Office expect to use the site for this purpose," Patel wrote in the letter. "The lack of a direct response to my questions relating to the length of time the Home Office plans to use the site for asylum accommodation gives the impression that the Home Office is being evasive."
12 August 2023, 15:38 GMT
She said that vague official statements that the use of the site was 'under review' only "suggests that the Government is being secretive about its intentions," insisting that "the local community and partners need to know what the Government’s plans are."
Patel also demanded to know how long the airfield would be used as a migrant camp, along with details of the projected financial impact in value-for-money and cost-per-bed terms.
"Clear answers now need to be provided by the Home Office and the Government must be transparent rather than evasive," Patel said. "The lack of clarity has been alarming and staggering."
The government's plan to house up to 400 single men trafficked to the UK — and now claiming political asylum — on the Bibby Stockholm hotel barge in Portland harbour, Dorset, suffered a setback on Friday after legionella, the bacteria that causes legionnaires' disease, was found in the vessel's water supply.
