Downing Street says safety ‘top priority’ amid Piddington asylum base fears

Detailed summary

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has approved full planning permission for the Ministry of Defence site.

Downing Street has defended plans to convert a military base near a tiny Oxfordshire village into asylum seeker accommodation, insisting the safety of the public will always be its “top priority”.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has approved full planning permission for the site at MoD Bicester near Piddington, which could accommodate more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers despite significant local opposition.

Piddington has told the Government to expect a legal challenge, and residents have even made a symbolic attempt to declare the village independent from the rest of the country.

Ministers want to use former military bases as part of efforts close all asylum hotels, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it should not just be the poorest communities receiving dispersed refugees.

Insisting that the MoD Bicester accommodation will be safe for locals, the Prime Minister’s deputy spokeswoman said such sites are “designed to be self-contained with 24/7 security and CCTV to minimise the impact on the local community”.

She continued: “As the Prime Minister himself has said, we do not want a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers who believe all parties to play their part.”

Asked what he would say to the women of Piddington, the spokeswoman said: “I think he would say we completely understand the strength of the feeling here and the safety of the public will always be our top priority, and that’s why we will work with police and other partners to ensure security arrangements are in place.”

Earlier on Friday, Piddington Parish council chairman Tim McNally said there would be “many actions” by villagers in the coming weeks, and that ministers should “absolutely” be braced for a legal challenge.

He also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme they could apply the new Hillsborough Law.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Evening Standard. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.