Government proposes housing asylum seekers at Catterick Garrison
It's part of plans to bring down the cost of hotel bills
Asylum seekers could be held at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire while their applications are processed, the government has announced.
It's part of plans to bring down the cost of hotel bills, with rooms currently being used to hold arrivals.
Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, also announced on Wednesday he is "continuing to explore the possibility" of using ferries and barges to reduce the "eye watering" reliance on hotels.
Despite opposition from within the Cabinet, he confirmed that RAF Wethersfield in Essex and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire will house migrants, as will a separate site on private land in Bexhill, East Sussex.
Mr Jenrick said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was "bringing forward proposals" to use the Catterick Garrison barracks to house asylum seekers in his constituency to show "leadership".
Charities said the military accommodation is "grossly inadequate" to house people who have fled war.
Senior Conservative Sir Edward Leigh responded by saying an injunction will be sought against the "thoroughly bad decision" in Lincolnshire, after a similar threat came from Essex.
Mr Jenrick told the Commons the Government remained committed to its "legal obligations" to house the destitute but said "we're not prepared to go further".
"Accommodation for migrants should meet their essential living needs and nothing more. Because we cannot risk becoming a magnet for the millions of people who are displaced and seeking better economic prospects," he said.
The minister insisted the sites are "undoubtedly in the national interest" and said "single adult males" only will be forced into the barracks, as he seeks to reduce a hotel bill he put at £2.3 billion a year.
He could not be any more specific than saying the accommodation will house "several thousands asylum seekers" in repurposed barrack blocks and portacabins.
The Refugee Council said it was "deeply concerned" by the plans, saying the suggested accommodation is "entirely unsuitable" to the needs of asylum seekers.
Enver Solomon, the charity's chief executive, said: "These sites are wholly inadequate places to house vulnerable men, women and children who have come to our country in search of safety.
"We must ensure that people fleeing war, conflict and persecution can access safe, dignified, and appropriate accommodation while in the UK asylum system.
"They are also unworkable and will add yet more cost and chaos to the system."