Conservative MPs and local police have warned the government of plans to house migrants on ships and said former RAF bases could turn their neighborhoods into breeding grounds for far-right activists.
Home Secretary Swella Braverman is expected to unveil the Bibby Stockholm in Dorset today as the Home Office’s first offshore facility to accommodate asylum seekers.
Ms. Braverman is expected to unveil plans to house up to 506 migrants aboard a three-story ship in Portland Harbor as part of a government effort to end the use of expensive hotels to house migrants.
This rural oasis will be one of five key locations in England to be announced by the Home Office as sites for new “rudimentary” shelters.
But Conservative MPs and local police chiefs expressed “grave concern” about the plans, warning that limited police resources in the new safe haven areas could mean they could be the target of far-right protests.
So said Conservative MP Edward Lee. I that government plans to house 1,500 to 2,000 asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in his parish of Lincolnshire were announced “without consultation with local authorities”.
He warned that without more police near RAF Scampton, which he said the Home Secretary had not yet planned, the local rural community would be a target for anti-migrant protesters.
“We already had the far right around our constituency – they broke into the base recently. They posted their hate propaganda on social media. They deliberately stir up anti-migrant sentiment,” he said. I.
“We were not told anything about the safety of the local population. Of course I’m worried about it. There are anti-immigrant groups that are deliberately fomenting these things – and they are already here.”
Locals living near a former military base in Lincolnshire clashed with a far-right activist last month when the government confirmed that the site, which was home to the Dumbusters during World War II, would help accommodate several thousand migrants.
In early March, two deputies were ordered to leave the base after filming themselves there. One waved a flag that read “England for the British, stop white genocide” while another waved insults at migrants.
Dorset police sources also expressed concern that plans to place some 500 asylum seekers on a floating barge in Portland harbor could flood the idyllic neighborhood with far-right demonstrations.
said I There were “serious fears” that Bibby Stockholm could attract anti-migrant protests, like the recent attacks in Knowsley, that would require strong police intervention.
However, senior police chiefs have warned that the Home Secretary has not announced funding for additional police stations near the port and that this could affect the local tourism industry. The tourism sector is the largest local industry in nearby Weymouth Beach and the surrounding coastal areas, providing about 10% of jobs.
David Neal, Independent Superintendent of Borders and Immigration Affairs, also warned that the Home Office risks a repeat of riots and infections at the Manston Canal Migrant Center in Kent if it does not “thoroughly plan” new shelter sites.
Register Telegraph Today, Mr. Neal said that “the Department needs to better organize shelters in Scampton … and other institutions.”
It’s coming, as Conservative MPs, councilors and police have said. I They were “upset” by the way the home secretary reacted to the asylum plans, who announced the plans without consulting the relevant local authorities.
Some said I that they only learned about the plans to open shelter centers in their constituency through newspaper reports a few weeks ago and are now going to court because they were not properly consulted.
I The Home Office has appointed Simon Ridley, Mid-Range Officer and Second Permanent Secretary, Improvement, Housing and Communities, to lead a dialogue with local policy makers, including councils, the Home Office said.
They have threatened to use emergency powers to open a new refugee camp at the former RAF base in Essex by the end of April with space for the transfer of 1,700 single men, and their requests for documents and evidence are denied on the grounds that they were chosen so locally. I it was said.
The Councils stand ready to encourage judges in any judicial review to compare the government’s decision-making process with that of the Home Office in order to implement abandoned plans to move from the former RAF base at Lynton-on-Ouse to the center of the refuge. , I it was said
The Home Office and the Ministry of Defense worked together on the proposal, with £2 million spent on preparatory work such as ground surveys and multi-agency involvement. Home Secretary Priti Patel, Immigration Minister Kevin Foster and Home Office Second Permanent Secretary Tricia Hayes had a discussion with local MP Kevin Hollinrake.
There was also a dedicated team that included an officer who looked after Mr. Hollinreik, collecting his correspondence, and officers who were sent to the area to hold meetings and demonstrate public participation.
MPs in other areas earmarked for the new asylum centers have suggested that Ms. Braverman use emergency powers to repeal planning laws.
Under current law, a building permit must be obtained from local authorities in order to “substantially” change the use of a building or land. Local authorities are also allowed to hold public consultations on planning applications where residents can have their say.
Mr Lee, Conservative MP for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, said: I“When the Home Secretary announced plans for RAF Scampton last week, she didn’t say, ‘Well, we’re discussing that.’ But in fact, the Home Office may not be able to do this, because it can only do this under emergency powers, and we will be suing them through judicial review.
Mr Li vowed to “continue to cause as much harassment to the government as possible” about the plans while he joins a growing consortium of Conservative MPs who are pressuring Ms Braverman to return.
Richard Drax, Conservative MP for South Dorset, said: I He spoke with lawyers about a possible legal challenge to plans to house migrants on the Bibby Stockholm boat.
He said Ms Braverman called him “out of the blue” last week to inform him of the plans and showed no sympathy amid concerns about an influx of migrants to the coastal city.
“The message that was delivered was: it is coming. We have no choice,” he said. “As far as I know, negotiations with the administration of the private port have been underway for some time. But no one was consulted. It was literally behind closed doors.”
Source: I News
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