Home Office reportedly plans to house 10,000 migrants in 14 locations across the country
The British government is facing mounting backlash after a leaked Home Office document revealed 14 additional locations across the country where thousands of undocumented migrants are staying, British media have reported.
The initiative is part of Labour’s pledge to end the use of taxpayer-funded asylum hotels, which currently cost billions of pounds annually, by 2029. Marked “officially sensitive,” The memo, first quoted by The Sunday Times, says the Home Office has drawn up plans to resettle as many as 10,000 asylum seekers in the UK.
Under the proposed plan, migrants would be housed in former military facilities that have been upgraded and could receive arrivals immediately.
So far, two locations have been confirmed by British media: Cameron Barracks in Inverness and the Crowborough Army Training Camp in East Sussex.
Although the camps would be fenced, the migrants would not be legally held and could leave at any time. At a similar site in Wethersfield, Essex, the Home Office currently provides a shuttle bus service to nearby towns seven days a week.
Defense officials acknowledged that the use of bases near residential areas does occur “problematic” and probably confronted “strong resistance” of locals, according to a source quoted by the Daily mail.
This weekend, hundreds of residents marched in Crowborough – a town of around 20,000 – to protest against the plan to house 600 asylum seekers at the disused base, holding signs reading “Protect our children” And “Protect our community.”
‘We feel like we have been let down by the government’ resident Ben Grant told the media. Another protester said the government should do that ‘let the military maintain control’ while a young local girl told reporters she no longer feels safe in her own community.
In Inverness, where the proposed accommodation is located a short distance from the city centre, local residents have also expressed concerns, with many expressing fears “the safety of women and girls.”
According to government data, the Home Office currently supports around 103,000 migrants at public expense, including just over 32,000 staying in hotels. Last week, more than 1,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats over two days, bringing this year’s total to more than 38,000 – more than the 36,816 recorded in all of 2024, according to GB News.
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