Home Office drops plans to house asylum seekers in town centre flats
Officials have told the former home secretary that the Home Office contractor Clearsprings will no longer be seeking to 'procure' a converted high-street clothes shop, which would have housed 35 asylum seekers.
It is the first U-turn by the Government since the protests began over the summer at hotels and other sites either where asylum seekers are being housed or have been proposed for their accommodation.
The flats in Waterlooville, part of Mrs Braverman's constituency in Hampshire, saw more than 2,000 people turn out at a high-street protest at the plans last month. More than 10,000 residents have also signed a petition organised by the MP opposing the scheme.
She branded the plans as 'outrageous', 'reckless' and 'insulting to local people', and warned they would add to pressures on services that were already under strain in the area.
It comes as 3,000 riot officers are being deployed and placed on standby this weekend amid concerns a string of anti-asylum seeker protests and counter-protests could lead to violence and disorder.
It is the first time since last summer's riots that specialist public order officers have been deployed on a national scale.
Speaking after the Home Office's decision to scrap the proposals, Mrs Braverman echoed comments she made three years ago when she had been appointed by Rishi Sunak to steer the Tories' asylum and Rwanda deportation plans through the Commons.
'We must not give up. This invasion must end. Any person who arrives illegally in our country must be detained in a secure facility and deported,' she said.
'I am very pleased that the Home Office has been forced to U-turn on their plans to house illegal migrants in Waterlooville. Thank you to the 10,000+ local people who signed my petition and peacefully protested to stop these plans
'Those of us who have stood up against this have been called racist, 'inflammatory' and 'divisive'. We are none of these things. Well done to the patriotic people of Waterlooville who took a stand for our community and for our country.'
The Home Office said in a letter to Mrs Braverman that it would still be seeking to house asylum seekers in her area 'to ensure that we can meet our statutory responsibilities'.
The Home Office has adopted a 'fair share' approach in which it is attempting to ensure all councils play a part in housing asylum seekers rather than concentrating their accommodation in particular local authorities.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, is seeking to reduce the use of hotels that are currently housing more than 30,000 asylum seekers. Alternative arrangements include moving them into private rental accommodation or medium-sized sites such as old tower blocks, former student accommodation and ex-teacher training colleges.
The accommodation crisis is, however, not being eased by the record number of migrants continuing to cross the Channel, with some 25,839 having reached the UK so far this year. This is the highest number at this point in the year since the first arrivals in 2018 and 50 per cent up on last year's figure.
Last week Labour detained the first Channel migrants who are to be returned to France within weeks under its 'one-in, one-out' deal with France, which it hopes will act as a deterrent to further crossings.
The social divisions over migration have been highlighted by the row in Waterlooville where Phil Munday, the leader of Havant council, criticised Mrs Braverman's language for 'flaming fears'.
'Repeated reference to illegal immigrants and unwanted men flames fears when we know as a matter of fact all users of the proposed accommodation are supported asylum seekers,' he said.
'Furthermore, the proposed use – as I discussed in depth with the Home Office personally – is that the accommodation would be used by a mix of families and individuals.
'This is a marked difference to the quite frankly offensive remarks that the proposed use of the site is to solely house dangerous single men of detriment to the borough.'
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