Revealed, Britain’s first migrant camp
‘Great concerns’ over disused barracks to house asylum seekers
BRITAIN is set to open its first migrant ‘camp’ for asylum seekers who have crossed the Channel, it was confirmed yesterday.
The controversial move to house 400 people in a Second World War Army barracks in Folkestone, Kent, has divided opinions, with the area’s MP, Damian Collins, saying he had ‘great concerns’.
But supporters of the camp say the policy of dispersing asylum seekers around the country means they can be lost from the system, and the promise of a comfortable living situation, free food and a £40-a-week spending allowance for many encourages migrants to attempt the perilous Channel crossing.
Alp Mehmet, a former immigration officer and chairman of think-tank MigrationWatch, said the decision to use the Army barracks ‘makes sense’.
He added: ‘This certainly helps in sending a message to Europe and to the traffickers who have been taking advantage of the UK being a soft touch, exploiting our weakness. It makes sense to keep asylum seekers in one place while their claims are processed. It’s an ideal location.’
The Home Office is under increasing pressure to get a grip on the migrant crisis, with a further 151 people making the perilous Channel crossing from France in small dinghies to land on the Kent coast yesterday.
The group, including two babies, followed the detention of 168 migrants on Monday, taking the total who have made the crossing to Britain this year to at least 6,489.
Plans are also under way to convert an Army barracks in Pembrokeshire, Wales, into temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. At the Folkestone barracks, dozens of mattresses were being unloaded yesterday. It is set to start welcoming asylum seekers while their applications are being processed from Monday.
Folkestone and Hythe council leader David Monk said communication from the Government over the decision had been ‘very, very poor’ and warned the move was a ‘recipe for disaster’. ‘My thoughts are simple,’ he said. ‘There has been zilch consultation, protocols have not been followed, this has been very poorly handled by the Home Office, and myself, the MP, the ward councillor, the council chairman and the local parish are all up in arms. The site is in the middle of nowhere. We believe the concentration of single males – up to 400 – is not sensible.
‘Our concern is, what are they going to do? They will gravitate to town and form groups and trouble will ensue. We have had no consultation and that’s the thing we are really, really angry about.’
Mr Monk and Folkestone and Hythe MP Mr Collins have urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to reverse the decision.
They raised concerns that the migrants in the new facility will not be unaccompanied children but ‘adults and their families’, and ‘many will be young men in their 20s and 30s’.
They said: ‘We would ask that you find more suitable accommodation for people who are currently having their cases processed by the asylum system.’
They raised concerns about the lack of notice, the potential impact on the local community and whether provisions had been made to support local services, including the NHS.
Migrants also had concerns. Fahad, a Yemeni activist helping asylum seekers at Brook House immigration centre in the grounds of Gatwick airport, said the use of Army accommodation was ‘not right’. ‘It’s not a good idea,’ he added. ‘People will think they are in Army jail or Army camp.’
However, he said asylum seekers would benefit from the extra security, having been allegedly threatened by far-Right groups.
He added that many asylum seekers, previously housed in hotels during the coronavirus pandemic, had asked to leave because the accommodation was not suitable.
‘People want to be in proper accommodation where they can socialise with other people and become integrated and merge. No one can live in a hotel,’ he said.
An Iraqi migrant in his 40s who is waiting in northern Europe to reach the UK by boat, said: ‘A migrant camp in the UK? Many of us choose to come to your country because we are not put in camps. This news will spread fast.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘During these unprecedented times, the Government is working with a range of partners and across departments to secure further accommodation, and the Ministry of Defence has offered use of some of its sites.’
‘There has been zilch consultation’