Labour is facing accusations of running a covert programme to house thousands of asylum seekers in disused military barracks across Britain, with critics warning that communities are being kept deliberately in the dark while the Government quietly scales up its use of former army sites.
In a GB News investigation, Britain’s News Channel approached every council across Great Britain with military barracks set to be disposed of over the next 12 years, asking whether the Home Office had expressed interest in using the sites for asylum accommodation. The responses painted a picture of evasion, deflection and a Government unwilling to be transparent about its plans.
Of 63 councils approached, 25 said no plans had yet been made to house migrants at nearby sites. Eight local authorities — including Breckland Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Kirklees Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Shropshire Council — said no discussions were underway but pointedly directed all further questions to Whitehall rather than addressing the matter themselves. Four councils, including Aberdeen City Council, City of York Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and South Lanarkshire Council, refused to confirm or deny whether they were in contact with the Home Office at all.
The investigation comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the closure of 11 taxpayer-funded migrant hotels last week — a move presented as progress in reducing the reliance on expensive hotel accommodation. The Government aims to remove approximately 30,000 asylum seekers from around 200 hotels across the UK by 2029, with military barracks forming a central part of the alternative accommodation strategy.
Crowborough in East Sussex has already experienced what critics describe as a glimpse of the future. A former military camp there is now home to 350 male migrants, who live a 20-minute walk from the town centre, can move freely without a curfew and receive a £50 weekly allowance for basic necessities. The Home Office confirmed the site could ultimately accommodate up to 540 people, with residents staying for up to three months while their asylum claims are processed. Hundreds of locals have since marched through the town carrying England and Union flags in protest, with some calling on residents to form community patrols and withhold council tax payments.
Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani, whose Sussex Weald constituency encompasses Crowborough, told GB News that neither she nor local Conservative councillors were informed of the decision to use the camp, accusing Wealden District Council’s Green and Liberal Democrat administration of conducting “secret” talks behind the community’s back.
The scale of what could follow Crowborough is considerable. GB News analysis of the sites identified in the investigation suggests they have the combined capacity to deliver nearly 22,000 homes for asylum seekers. The Prince William of Gloucester Barracks near Grantham in Lincolnshire — the largest army barracks in the region and the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher — could theoretically house up to 3,000 people, equivalent to a small town. The site, originally earmarked for sale in 2020, will now remain under Ministry of Defence ownership until at least 2029. South Kesteven District Council, which covers the barracks, told GB News it had “not expressed an interest” in using the site for asylum accommodation and was “not aware of being put forward or selected for a Home Office initiative by a third party.”
Cameron Barracks in Inverness is separately reported to be preparing to accommodate 300 asylum seekers in the near future.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of deliberately obscuring its intentions and urged the Government to “come clean” about where it planned to send people. “The truth is that they are moving illegal migrants from asylum hotels to residential housing because they do not have control of our borders,” he said, adding that dispersal accommodation carried fewer safeguards and created greater opportunities for illegal working, criminality and disappearance into communities.
The Home Office confirmed it is working closely with councils and other stakeholders to accelerate delivery and scale up the use of military barracks, but maintains a longstanding policy of not providing a running commentary on operational matters — a position critics say amounts to a cover-up.
More than 6,000 small boat migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year — enough to fill the Crowborough camp more than eleven times over.
