Priti Patel’s plan for a reception centre for 1,500 young single male asylum seekers on a former RAF site in Yorkshire, which was set to begin today, has been questioned by one of her top civil officers.
In a letter published to MailOnline, Emma Haddad, the Home Secretary’s £135,000-a-year Director General for Asylum and Protection, reminded residents of Linton-on-Ouse that ‘no final decision has been taken.’
Locals have described the idea as ‘terrifying,’ since it will ‘destroy’ the village, which will be two-to-one overrun by asylum seekers. The first 50 people were supposed to arrive this morning.
Ms Haddad’s letter to members of The Linton-on-Ouse Action Group, dated May 27, appears to undermine the Home Office’s insistence that it would open by the end of May.
The Home Secretary announced the proposals for the processing centre in Yorkshire earlier this month, which is set to house migrants arriving in the UK to end reliance on hotel accommodation, costing the taxpayer almost £5million a day.
But Ms Haddad has put the brakes on the government’s asylum scheme and said ‘analysis and consideration of whether or not to accommodate asylum seekers at RAF Linton is ongoing’.
She added: ‘I can confirm that where obligations relating to consultation with the Council, community and other stakeholders exist they will be fulfilled.’
The move comes as the first 100 migrants being deported to Rwanda will receive notices that they will be extradited from the UK this week, with the first flights expected to set off on June 6.
The paperwork, which notifies the migrant of intent to send them on the 6,000-mile journey, is understood to have been sent to the 100 asylum seekers under Home Secretary Priti Patel’s new scheme.
The Home Secretary’s team is ‘ready for legal challenges’, while Boris Johnson lashed out at ‘liberal lawyers’ for delaying his plan to send thousands of migrants from the UK to Rwanda – and vowed to ‘get it done’.
Previously, locals had accused Ms Patel of ‘dropping a bomb’ on the village, which is a close-knit community of 700 residents.
Home Office officials previously tried to allay residents’ fears about the centre, which ministers have previously claimed would ‘provide safe and self-sufficient accommodation’, they were met with constant jeers and shouts of ‘rubbish’ from unimpressed locals.
One woman, who was in tears as she spoke, said: ‘Villagers are in crisis. People are upset and people are leaving their homes. My property is the first “owned” property (next to the centre) where everyone will come and go. They will stand outside my property.’
Residents heard how security officers will guard entrances to the site, where CCTV will also be installed, but that asylum seekers will not be ‘detained’ inside the centre.
Detective Chief Inspector David Hunter added two police officers will patrol the village daily between 8.30am and midnight when the first asylum seekers arrive in Linton-on-Ouse.
ne resident objected to the increased police presence, saying: ‘We do not want police in the village – we don’t want it to change from a sleepy village.’
Virginia Sharpe said the prospect of 1,500 men arriving in a village of around 700 people left her feeling ‘intimidated’.
She told Yorkshire Live: ‘We have a right to not have to change our lives so drastically because of something that no one knew about until it was dropped on us like a bombshell, with no consultation.’
‘We think it is totally unfair. If I was walking down the street and came across a group of single young men – of any background – I would feel intimidated. A lot of women in this village are worried.’
Richard Burke said: ‘I am really, really worried for families and children. My wife enjoys walking our dogs two or three times a day but she won’t be going out on her own (when the centre opens) because she will feel intimidated.
‘The single and only criteria that seems to have been considered here is the availability of the site. There has been zero consultation. It has just been dropped on us. Given the numbers that they are talking about bringing in, I can’t see how it would ever work.’
The Home Office said a ‘considered assessment’ had taken place before the site at Linton-on-Ouse was found to be feasible.
But officials accepted they would need ‘to work through’ individual concerns with residents in order to ‘bring everyone together’. It is understood residents will be invited to visit the centre before it opens where they will be given the chance to raise any concerns with officials.
But one resident at the meeting said villagers feel ‘like a child that is being blamed for something they did not do.’ They added: ‘You are not grasping the concept of what you are doing to our village.’
Another woman in the audience was applauded when she said: ‘Whatever you say, you are not going to give residents any peace of mind.’
Another resident added: ‘Are they allowed the freedom of the village? Where is the security? Individuals can go where they want. Who is supervising them?’
Thirsk and Morton MP Kevin Hollinrake, pictured, questioned his party leader Boris Johnson at PMQs, claiming residents would not be safe ‘leaving their homes alone’
A senior North Yorkshire Police officer said patrols have been increased and his officers will be taking heed of residents’ concerns.
He added that two police officers would be on patrol between 8.30 and midnight every day.
Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said this would be in place when 60 asylum seekers were at the site.
She said that she didn’t want anyone to feel unsafe in their community, explaining: ‘I am not far away. We are going to do everything we can to make you feel safe.’
A resident claimed a police officer had told women to not wear short skirts outside, but Metcalfe said that it was unacceptable behaviour from the officer.
And another member of the audience was applauded when they said: ‘People are upset. 1,500 men are coming to our village of 600 adults.
‘What are you doing to carry out a proper impact assessment?’
The Linton-on-Ouse Action Group (LoOAG) commended a no-confidence vote in the Home Office, which was passed overwhelmingly by North Yorkshire county councillors in mid-May.
Hambleton District Council previously announced it is looking at legal action over the plan.