Yvette Cooper facing fresh pressure to close ‘prison-like' Wethersfield asylum camp
More than 70 refugee charities and human rights organisations have called on Yvette Cooper to shut a 'prison-like' former RAF base housing asylum seekers in Essex.
Just weeks after the High Court found the Home Secretary acted unlawfully in housing three asylum seekers at the facility, the campaigners have piled pressure on Ms Cooper to shut the 'unsafe and unsuitable' site for good.
Sir Keir Starmer this month declined to set a date for when the former RAF station will be shuttered, despite pledging to close it during the general election.
And, following the closure of the Bibby Stockholm barge, as well as the announced closure date of the RAF Napier asylum camp, the coalition of organisations called the continuation of Wethersfield 'ever more indefensible'.
In a letter coordinated by the charity Asylum Matters, they said: 'People seeking asylum should be housed in communities, not camps. Placing people seeking protection in camp accommodation on ex-military sites is inhumane, and causes profound and long-lasting additional trauma to people who have already experienced conflict, oppression, abuse, torture and trafficking.
'The recent judgment by the High Court of Justice regarding the unlawful treatment of three victims of torture, trafficking and/or serious violence at ex-RAF Wethersfield adds to the growing body of evidence that camps like this are wholly unsuitable and unsafe for people seeking protection.
'Both Wethersfield and Napier must close now, so that no more vulnerable people are put at risk and no more Government money is wasted.'
Signatories include Humans for Rights Network, Refugee Action, City of Sanctuary UK, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and Choose Love, as well as local support groups from across the country such as Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) and Asylum Link Merseyside. It was also backed by wider civil rights groups including the Runnymede Trust.
And Labour MP Nadia Whittom told The Independent: 'I've met people who have been housed in Wethersfield and they told me of the mental health crisis gripping the site. It is a completely inappropriate place for people seeking asylum to live, many of whom have been through immense trauma.
"The government did the right thing in shutting down the Bibby Stockholm. Now it must close Wethersfield too."
The letter also said 'camps which segregate people seeking asylum stoke community division and act as a magnet for far right agitators' and said ending the use of such camps is more important than ever in the wake of the Southport riots last summer.
The Independent has repeatedly drawn attention to conditions on the Wethersfield site, including speaking to residents about the mental health crisis unfolding inside.
One described how seeing people attempt suicide has become almost routine, while another said fights were common, especially in the dining room over food portions.
Last year The Independent also revealed the slew of ambulances being called to attend incidents at Wethersfield amid a rise in the number of men attempting suicide.
Initial plans were for up to 1,700 migrants to be housed at the airfield, but there are currently around 580 on the site.
The government is reluctant to close Wethersfield as doing so could scupper the government's mission to scale back the use of hotels for asylum seekers and drive up the cost of accommodation for migrants.
And, despite pledging to end the use of hotels and barges to house asylum seekers, The Independent this week revealed the government has awarded a contract allowing for their provision until 2027.
The wide-ranging agreement – which covers transport, accommodation and venue bookings for the public sector – includes services for asylum seekers, released prisoners and rough sleepers.
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