A Conservative MP has accused the Home Office of using his constituency in North Yorkshire as a “sacrificial lamb for national policy”, as a controversial accommodation center for 1,500 asylum seekers will be opened there.
The interior ministry says the site – Linton-on-Ouz RAF air base, which ended military operations in 2020 – will house its first 60 asylum seekers by May 31st.
Kevin Hollinrake, whose Tirsk and Malton constituency includes the base, is angry about the plans and accused the Home Office of “a great abuse of power”. Holinrake, who had a majority of 25,154 in the 2019 general election, said his constituents were ubiquitously concerned about the proposals.
Kevin Hollinrake in the House of Commons.
While many say they support the right of asylum seekers to seek asylum, they insist that Linton-on-Oz, a “sleepy” village of 700, is not suitable for a new population of 1,500.
Holinrake told fellow lawmakers during a parliamentary debate Tuesday night that Interior Ministry officials had told him that the arrival of the first group of 60 asylum seekers at the military base could be delayed.
He insisted that the opposition was not for nimbism or racism, but for the scale of plans in such a small village.
“I have nine-year-old children who write to me and tell me how panicked they are,” he said.
He called on Immigration Minister Kevin Foster to consider alternative venues for the UK’s first asylum reception center.
In response, Foster said large reception centers for asylum seekers are already in use in Greece. Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the conditions in these centers.
Former RAF base in Linton-on-Oz. Photo: Olli Scarf / AFP / Getty Images
He added that one of the advantages of accommodating asylum seekers in Linton-on-Ouz is that their entire asylum application can be considered while they are there. However, lawyers and refugee charities have expressed concerns about the lack of access to legal aid lawyers in the area.
Last week, 85 of the 90 members of the Conservative North Yorkshire County Council voted overwhelmingly in a no-confidence vote with five abstentions. Hollin Rake described the no-confidence vote as “a disgrace to the Home Office and the Home Secretary”.
The Humboldton County Council, which is in charge of Linton-on-Oz, is considering judicial review proceedings against the Home Office for the plans.
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