Military sites could house asylum seekers, says John Healey

The defence secretary has said the government is looking at moving asylum seekers onto military sites as an alternative to hotels.

John Healey also confirmed officials are considering a range of “non-military” accommodation, although he did not offer further details.

Labour has pledged to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels before the next election, after a series of protests against their use over the summer.

Just over 32,000 asylum seekers are living in hotels whilst their claims are processed, around a third of those in taxpayer-funded accommodation.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the defence secretary said his department would “play our part” in the task of ending asylum hotel use.

“What you are seeing from Keir Starmer now is this isn’t just a job for the Home Office, it’s an all of government effort,” he added.

“We’ve got (military) planners alongside the Home Office, we’re looking at military and non-military sites for potential temporary accommodation”.

It comes amid reports that Shabana Mahmood, who replaced Yvette Cooper as home secretary on Friday during a major cabinet reshuffle, is set to announce new proposals to house asylum seekers on military land within weeks.

Two former military sites – MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, and Napier Barracks, a former military base in Kent – are already being used to house asylum seekers after being opened under the previous government.

The Home Office had been expected to start increasing the number of migrants living at the Wethersfield site, while Napier Barracks, which had been due to stop housing asylum seekers this month, is also set to stay open longer.