More asylum seekers to be housed in barracks deemed ‘unfit for human habitation’

Charities up in arms over continued use of the Napier barracks in Kent, which were set alight by Covid-stricken migrants in January

Fire at the Napier barracks in Folkestone
The Napier barracks in Folkestone aflame during protests by asylum seekers in January

More asylum seekers are to be housed at the controversial Napier barracks site in Kent despite a campaign by charities to have it closed down.

Migrants are expected to be moved to the former military site near Folkestone on Friday.

The barracks had been emptied over the weekend, raising hopes among the charities that it would be closed, like its sister site in south Wales. However, a Home Office spokesman said: “We secured permission to use Napier barracks for 12 months and while pressure on the asylum system remains, will continue to make use of the site.

“Our New Plan for Immigration will reform the broken asylum system; allowing us to welcome people through safe and legal routes, while preventing abuse of the system and the criminality associated with it.”

The barracks was the scene of mass protests by asylum seekers in January after the Home Office refused to move them out, ending in buildings being set alight.

More than half of the near-400 residents fell sick with Covid, amid complaints about the conditions at the barracks.

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Critics expressed anger and disappointment over the Home Office’s decision to persevere with the use of the former Ministry of Defence site.

Stuart McDonald, SNP MP and member of the home affairs select committee, said: “The Home Office doesn’t need to use these dilapidated former barracks to accommodate people fleeing war and violence but are choosing to do so anyway – despite a damning inspection and the ongoing pandemic. That choice is a political one.

“The whole Home Office machine is hell-bent on ensuring life for people seeking refuge is as miserable as possible in the hope it will put off others from applying for refugee status. The use of these dilapidated barracks is shocking and shameful – but it is consistent with everything else the Home Office is doing.”

Rubbish is picked up in Napier barracks.
Cleanup operations after the protests at Napier barracks

Earlier this year, the High Court heard that the Home Office went ahead with the housing plan despite Public Health England advice that the dormitory-style accommodation at Napier Barracks, which holds up to 28 men in a single block, was not suitable during the pandemic.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration published a damning report following inspections of Napier and the now-closed Penally camp in Pembrokeshire, branding the sites “filthy” and “impoverished”. The cramped and decrepit sites were “unfit for human habitation”, the report said.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Local agencies in Kent and independent inspectors have all concluded that the barracks are unfit to house anybody. It’s shocking that the Government is ignoring this and continuing to treat people who have experienced great trauma in their lives with a complete lack of compassion and humanity.”

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