Arrivals at UK Cyprus base have cost £1m

MIGRANTS who arrived by boat at a British military base in Cyprus last year have cost taxpayers more than £1million in three months.

Two boats carrying 115 people sparked a security alert on October 21 as they came ashore at dawn at RAF Akrotiri, which has been used for air strikes against Islamic State.

Since then, the Government has spent £1,122,9 2 housing and supporting the group, who were thought to be the first Syrians escaping the conflict to arrive directly on British soil.

Their arrival provoked a diplomatic row between Britain and Cyprus over which country should take responsibility for the migrants.

Seventeen years ago a boatload of Iraqi and Syrian Kurds came ashore at the base, leading to a dispute that has left 21 still stuck today in legal limbo on RAF Dhekelia, a neighbouring military base.

The group that arrived in October were also moved to accommodation in RAF Dhekelia.

Penny Mordaunt, the armed forces minister, revealed the cost of accommodating the latest arrivals in response to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.

She said costs would be met by the overseas aid budget.