171 organisations have written to the Prime Minister to urge him to ‘listen to common sense’ and scrap plans for asylum camps at Wethersfield, Catterick, Bexhill and Scampton, as well as on ferries and barges.
The letter, which has been signed by national and local organisations across Britain including Asylum Matters, says the sites are ‘deeply unsuitable’ and the Government risks creating ‘an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe’ if it presses ahead with plans to house people seeking asylum on these sites.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick MP announced on 29 March 2023 that long-trailed plans for camps on former military sites would go ahead. The sites identified are former RAF bases at Scampton, Lincolnshire, Wethersfield in Essex, and Catterick, North Yorkshire, and the site of a former prison in Bexhill, East Sussex. The Government has also stated its intention to use ferries and barges as accommodation.
The new sites follow the Government’s withdrawal of the plan for a site on an ex-RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, last year, after a concerted campaign from local residents and refugee supporting organisations, which Asylum Matters was proud to support.
The full letter and list of signatories is below.
Dear Prime Minister,
We write to express our opposition to the Government’s plans to warehouse and segregate people seeking asylum on military bases, former prison sites, ferries and barges.
We believe people should be housed in communities, not camps. Placing thousands of people in confined sites, in remote locations, will cause significant harm to people fleeing war and persecution and damage community relations. The sites at Wethersfield, Scampton, Bexhill and Catterick are deeply unsuitable, as was the planned site at Linton-on-Ouse. The proposals for the use of ferries and barges are risible and should not even be under consideration.
If these sites are allowed to go ahead, people seeking safety will find themselves isolated in prison-like conditions without adequate advice, healthcare, or support. These facilities will segregate and re-traumatise people, and are being planned with no consideration of either the needs of people seeking asylum or local communities. The complete lack of prior consultation with the communities where these sites are planned is inexcusable and emblematic of the Home Office’s wider approach.
Further, plans in the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill to significantly increase the scope for detention, raise the prospect of mass incarceration of people seeking safety. This is despite the scandal of Manston, where people were forced to exist in squalor beyond legal time limits. The racism behind an approach that visibly segregates people and forces them to live in prison-like conditions cannot be ignored.
Segregating people in this way, and doing so without any consultation with local residents, inevitably leads to community tensions. Furthermore, this approach creates clear targets for the far right, as we have seen in Manston, Knowsley, Llantwit Major, Linton-on-Ouse and other towns. It is only thanks to ordinary people standing up for a culture of welcome and solidarity in these areas that those tensions have not escalated further. But the Government’s plans, coupled with its incendiary rhetoric, means these divisions are only going to get deeper, and the problems more acute.
The use of hotels as ‘contingency’ asylum accommodation is a result of the Home Office’s enormous backlog of asylum cases, and its failure to work with local authorities to adequately plan and resource the asylum dispersal system. While private companies make huge profits from the outsourcing of asylum accommodation, people suffer and resentment grows.
The solutions lie not in headline-grabbing announcements and punitive accommodation regimes aimed at deterrence—none of which will succeed in their stated aims. The safest, quickest and most cost-effective way to end the use of hotels and fix the problems in our asylum accommodation system would be through making fair and timely decisions on people’s asylum claims. The Government must also recommit to working in partnership with local authorities and devolved administrations to improve asylum dispersal and accommodation, with adequate resources and meaningful consultation. Finally, the Government must scrap the Illegal Migration Bill that will only exacerbate these problems, and cause even more harm. These measures would be a step towards a system that enables people to rebuild their lives in our communities, in safety and dignity.
This is a manufactured crisis of the Government’s own making, and we refuse to stand by while vulnerable people and local communities pay the price. We urge you to listen to common sense and change course now, before you create an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Hook, Director, Asylum Matters
Nicola Jenner, Digital Communications Officer, The Pickwell Foundation
Phil Davis, Director, Hope Projects
Elli Free, Director, Room to Heal
Caitlin Boswell , Policy & Advocacy Manager, JCWI
Vicki Felgate and Kayte Cable, Co-Founders, Big Leaf Foundation
Eiri Ohtani, Director, Right to Remain
Denise McDowell, CEO, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
Jeremy Thompson, Manager, Restore – a project of Birmingham Churches Together
Sally Daghlian OBE, CEO, Praxis
Ros Holland, Chief Executive, Boaz Trust
Dr Mohamed Nasreldin, Director, North of England Refugee Service
Emily Crowley, Chief Executive, Student Action for Refugees
Maddie Harris, Director, Humans for Rights Network
Steve Newman, Chair, FODI, Sunderland
Ruth Hicks, Lay Chair, Stockton St Peter’s Church
Robert Miller, Group Secretary, Wearside Amnesty Group
Stuart Crosthwaite, Secretary, South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG)
George Reiss, Vice-chair, Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary
Clare Hurst, Deputy Centre Director, North East Law Centre
Stephanie Neville, Project Manager, Stories of Hope and Home
Rabiyah K Latif, Birmingham Coordinator, Near Neighbours
Mark Goldring, Director, Asylum Welcome
Eleanor Brown, Managing Director, CARAS
Duncan McAuley, CEO, Action Foundation
Kate Alexander, Director, Scottish Detainee Visitors
Thomas Martin, Director, City of Sanctuary Sheffield
David Brown, Chair, Birmingham City of Sanctuary
Amanda Church-Mcfarlane, Co-CEO, Abigail Housing
Amos Schonfield, Founder & CEO, Our Second Home
Alison Cookson, Coordinator, Social Action Group of Newcastle Reform Synagogue
Mary Solomon, Founder, Humans of Wolverhampton
Polly Gifford, Co-Chair, Hastings Community of Sanctuary
Amber Bauer, CEO, forRefugees
Jo Benefield, Campaign Coordinator, Bristol Defend Asylum Seekers Campaign
Aderonke Apata, Founder and CEO, African Rainbow Family
Aderonke Apata, Founder and Chairperson, Manchester Migrant Solidarity
Zrinka Bralo, CEO, Migrants Organise
Satinder Collins, Chair, Tees Valley of Sanctuary
Mel Steel, Director, Voices in Exile
Naomi Webb, Executive Director, Good Chance Theatre
Penny Henry, Spokesperson, Tynemouth Together with Refugees
Frank Parnham, Secretary, Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary
Joanne MacInnes, Director, West London Welcome
John Mellor, Member, Ripon City of Sanctuary
Heather Davies, Secretary, Hereford Amnesty International Group
Veecca Smith Uka, Co-founder, Fresh Grassroots Rainbow Community
Leeds Anti-Raids Action
Karen Pearse, Director, PAFRAS
Richard Davies, Chair of trustees, Wakefield District City of Sanctuary
Deniz Ugur, Deputy Director, End Violence Against Women Coalition
Keziah Berelson, Co-Artistic Director, Mafwa Theatre
Michal Chantkowski, Manager, International Community Organisation of Sunderland (ICOS)
Rev Gerard Goshawk, Minister, Six Ways Erdington Baptist Church
Layla Ismail, Development Manager, Refugee Women of Bristol
Angela Palmer, ESOL Development Worker, Migrant English Support Hub (MESH)
Anna Jones, Co-Founder and CEO, RefuAid
Nick Beales, Head of Campaigning, RAMFEL
Catharine Walston, Trustee, Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
Will Sutcliffe, Chair, Bradford City of Sanctuary
Bridget Young, Director, NACCOM
Mark Courtice, Chair of Trustees, Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group
Bail for Immigration Detainees
Marissa Green, Chair of Trustees, Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
Alphonsine Kabagabo, Director, Women for Refugee Women
Charles Dobson, Chair, Skipton Refugee Support Group
Karen Whiteread, Director, PramDepot
Joanne Thorns, Project Coordinator, Communities Together Durham
Annika Joy and Lorraine McGrath, Director and CEO, Simon Community Scotland
Dr Natalia Paszkiewicz, Project Lead, Da’aro Youth Project
Halaleh Taheri, Founder & Executive Director, Middle Eastern Women and Society Organisation-MEWSO
Andrea Kilvington, CEO, Standing Together
Souad Talsi MBE, Founder & Interim CEO, Al-Hasaniya Moroccan Women’s Centre
Angie Herrera, Director, Latin American Women’s Aid
Stacy Smith, CEO, Her Centre
Rob Hooper, Pastor, OASIS Church, inner Birmingham
Karen Ingala Smith, CEO, nia
Wendy Lewis, Manager/Founder, Free2B-Me LGBTQ+ Community Organisation
Sonia Jalal, Founder and Director, Hull Sisters
Ryn Bentham, Deputy Manager, Asha North Staffordshire
Seána Roberts, Manager, Merseyside Refugee Support Network
Seána Roberts, Administrator, Liverpool City of Sanctuary
Gisela Valle, Director, Latin American Women’s Rights Service
Amber Ray, Communications and Engagement Officer, Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary
Andrew Harwood, Project Manager, Welcome Group Halesowen
Shantele Sutherland, Director/CEO, Cheshire, Halton & Warrington Race & Equality Centre
Ben Gilchrist, CEO, Caritas Shrewsbury
Revd. Ian Rutherford, City Centre Minister, Methodist Central Hall Manchester
Andrew Copson, Chief Executive, Humanists UK
Rev. Dr. Joseph Cortis, Coordinator, Caritas Leeds (Catholic Diocese)
Tony Pearce, Chair, Stafford Welcomes Refugees
Shafiq Ahmed, Founder, Haji Bashir Ahmed Foundation
Kathryn Ashworth, CEO, Solace Surviving Exile and Persecution
Jas Bhatoa, Senior Legal Officer, Rights of Women
Mimi Wilsher, Policy Coordinator, Caritas Salford
Peter John Chapman, Co-ordinator for RAS development, Stockton Baptist Church
Caroline Voaden, CEO, Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services
Phil Kerton, Co-Director, Seeking Sanctuary
Ted Britton, Chair of Trustees, West Yorkshire Destitute asylum Network (WYDAN)
Azizzum Akhtar, CEO, Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance
Sarah Teather, Director, Jesuit Refugee Service UK
Josie Naughton, CEO & Co Founder, Choose Love
Enver Solomon, CEO, Refugee Council
Mike Wild, Chief Executive, Macc
Siobhan Taylor-Ward, Solicitor, Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre
Moyra Irving, Director, The Extra Guest
Sarah Wilson, Director, Penrith and Eden Refugee Network
Jabeer Butt, CEO, Race Equality Foundation
Alison Boydell, Co-founder, JURIES
Emma Hawthorne, Chair, BIRCH Birmingham Community Hosting
Rachel Wing, Treasurer, Refugee and Asylum Project Stockton on Tees
Christopher Halliday, Volunteer, Oldham Unity
Julie Longden, Founder, United Peoples Movement
Ernie Whalley, Chair, Reach Project for Asylum seekers, Huddersfield
Sheila Mosley, Member of the Steering Group, Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network – QARN
John McKernaghan, Chief Officer, The Brunswick Centre
Elizabeth Crompton, Founder, Allyship
Nina Houghton, Joint Coordinator, Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders
Andy Collins, Coordinator, Borderland Voices, arts for health and mental well-being
Major Adrian Lee, Commanding Officer / Minister, The Salvation Army Huddersfield
Barbara Forbes, Local coordinator, Birmingham Schools of Sanctuary
Sally Smith, Managing Director, Sanctus
Jayne Butler, CEO, Rape Crisis England & Wales
Fran Wood, Chair, Darlington Assistance for Refugees
Sue Arnall, Honorary Treasurer, the Eagles Wing
Ann Bettys, Clerk, Huddersfield Quaker Meeting
Jaqui Cotton, Chair, Growing Together Levenshulme
Jane Wood, Project Coordinator, Shared Goods Charity
Jane Wood, Steering Group Member, Sanctuary Kirklees
Dr Fiona Vera-Gray, Deputy Director, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit
Andy Brown, Committee Member, Harmony Choir Leeds
Maureen Connolly, CEO, Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
Rachel Adamson and Laura Tomson, Co-Directors, Zero Tolerance
Philip Moore, Director, Moores Metals
Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, Women’s Budget Group
Liz Hibberd, Strategic and Partnership Lead, Manchester City of Sanctuary
Rebecca Kogan, Fresh Claims Project Coordinator, Nottingham Arimathea Trust
Clare Campbell, Operations Manager, Walking With in North Tyneside
Ewan Roberts, Centre Manager, Asylum Link Merseyside
Sebastian Rocca, Founder and CEO, Micro Rainbow CIC
Kathleen Grant, Secretary/Trustee, RAPAR (Refugee and Asylum Seeker Participatory Action Research)
Heather Petch, Executive Director, Refugee Futures Ltd
Sarah Jemison, Chair of Trustees, BEACON (Bradford Ecumenical Asylum Concern)
Dr Kate Smith, Senior Research Fellow, Just Futures Centre for Child, Youth, Family and Community Research, University of Huddersfield
Diana Nammi, Executive Director, IKWRO – Women’s Rights Organisation
Jules Palfreyman, Chair, Greater Manchester Equality Alliance (GM=EqAl)
Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs OBE, CEO, Surviving Economic Abuse
Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director, René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights
Phillip J Welldrake, Secretary, Greater Manchester Patients Not Passports
Alyson Rosemary Malach, Director, EDUK
Aasifa Usmani, Programme Manager, The Faith and VAWG Coalition
Iona Taylor, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead, Positive Action in Housing
Simon Tyler, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK
Tracy Blackwell, Director of Strategic Insights and Partnerships, Refuge
Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity, Govan Community Project
Jo Cobley, CEO, Young Roots
James Wilson, Director, Detention Action
Bill Dennis, Voluntary Chair, Kirklees Multi-Agency Group
Shereen Cowley, LGBTQIA+ Asylum Seeker & Refugee Support Lead, Sahir House
Gail Heath, CEO, The Pankhurst Trust (inc Manchester Women’s Aid)
Peter Oluoch, Chief Officer, Humber Community Advice Services Ltd
Andrew Quinn, CEO, Father Hudson’s Care
Mandy Littlewood, Director, Refugees & Mentors CIC
Sabir Zazai, CEO, Scottish Refugee Council
Harriet Wistrich, Director, Centre for Women’s Justice
Beth Gardiner, CEO, Safe Passage International
Sobiya Din, Women’s Mental Health project Lead, WomenCentre Kirklees
Agnes Baziwe, CEO, Africa Advocacy Foundation
Phil Watson, Chair, Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle Justice & Peace Co-ordinating Council
Emma Ginn, Director, Medical Justice
