THE UK will open the country’s first ‘migrant holding camp’ for people who have crossed the Channel in small boats from next week.
The disused Kent military barracks were converted to camps where people will be housed during the processing of their asylum claims.
According to reports, as many as 400 people, including families, will stay in temporary accommodation at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, initially.
That will include migrants who have crossed to the UK in small boats.
The plan is likely to attract protest from various corners as local MP Damian Collins said he ‘will not support’ the project.
He also urged the government to find another ‘suitable’ place to set up such a camp.
The MP along with the leader of Folkestone and Hythe district Council and the chairman of Sandgate Parish Council wrote to home secretary Priti Patel to reverse the decision.
“We have great concerns about the impact this large open camp will have on the welfare of the local residential community and also those people in the asylum system who will be placed at the barracks itself,” the letter said.
According to reports, local residents alleged that the Home Office was ‘very poor’ in communicating the plans of the migrant camp.
In this week, so far, dozens more migrant arrivals were recorded on Kent beaches.
A recent media report said that a barracks in Pembrokeshire, Wales, is also being considered to convert to a ‘migrant camp’.
for use by the Home Office, the PA news agency reported. It comes as more than 168 on Monday. At least 151 migrants came on Tuesday,
According to reports, more than 300 people crossed to the UK on small boats in this week, with some landing on a beach in Kent.
In a recent statement, the government clarified that it work closely with organisations, including local authorities and law enforcement, throughout the process of finding proper housing places for migrants.
“We want to ensure that the vulnerable asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, have suitable accommodation while their claims are processed.”
Meanwhile, immigration minister Chris Philp announced that 14 people who had crossed the Channel to Britain had been deported on Tuesday(15).
