Outcry as ‘inhuman prison camp’ gets ready for refugees
PRITI Patel plans to dump 300 crossChannel refugees in a “prison camp” with no drainage, mains water or sewage and little health care, say MPs.
The Home Secretary is using special powers to bypass planning regulations to get the camp up and running in a Hampshire village by January 1, when Brexit transition ends.
Local Tory MP and former Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes branded the scheme “inhuman”.
And shadow Immigration minister Holly Lynch added: “This is an unworkable half-plan leaving incredibly vulnerable people in limbo.”
The asylum seekers, all single migrant men, will be housed on 9.6 acres of derelict Ministry of Defence land near the village of Barton Stacey.
Water will have to be tankered in and power provided by generators.
Ms Nokes said: “It will be like a prison camp and conditions will be appalling. There are no plans to provide healthcare services on site, which will add to
the strain on local GPs. I am shocked anyone could think this is a good idea.”
The EU agreement, in which the UK removes refugees to the first safe European country where they arrive, expires when Brexit transition ends.
Stephen Hale, of Refugee Action, said: “The way we currently treat people seeking asylum is becoming a stain on our national conscience.”
A Home Office spokeman said: “The plans have not been finalised. All accommodation provided is required to be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped.”