Minister explains why Labour approved asylum accommodation near Piddington

Résumé détaillé

Defence minister Luke Pollard said he did not want any migrants housed in temporary accommodation but that it is necessary while reforms to the asylum system are ongoing

Plans to house migrants in a former military base near a village in Oxfordshire have been approved by the Government.

Defence minister Luke Pollard defended the decision to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence site in Bicester, despite pushback from the nearby village of Piddington. Residents in the village symbolically voted to leave the UK in September over proposals.

Mr Pollard said the plans are an “important part” of efforts to close all asylum hotels, the use of which spiralled under the Tories. He admitted he did not want any migrants housed in temporary accommodation but that it is necessary while reforms to the asylum system are ongoing.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner on Thursday evening approved full planning permission for the site. Piddington's parish council chairman has since warned ministers to brace for a legal challenge.

Labour has vowed to end the use of asylum hotels and tackle the backlog, but demand for asylum accommodation remains high. It means the Government must find alternative sites such as former military barracks.

Mr Pollard said he recognises temporary asylum accommodation "has an impact on its local community", telling Sky News on Friday: "Ideally, I don't want to have any temporary accommodation. So I want an asylum system that can process people quickly and get them out the door. That is what Shabana Mahmoud, the Home Secretary, is working towards at the moment.

"But we recognise that any temporary asylum accommodation has an impact on its local community. That's one of the reasons why, you know, if I was doing this interview two years ago, you would have been asking me questions about why aren't you closing asylum hotels faster? What about the impact on those communities?"

He added: "I want to see every asylum hotel closed and this is an important part of how the government delivers that."

Pressed on the choice of MoD Bicester for the site, he added: "As part of the process, we've reviewed actually a large number…

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