The Home Office’s plan to relocate dozens of asylum seekers to a former RAF base in North Yorkshire was postponed until Tuesday, after a document emerged acknowledging that “a final decision has not yet been made”.
The plan to relocate 1,500 asylum seekers to an abandoned military base in the village of Linton-on-Ouz was met with strong resistance. The 600 residents of a village called Guantanamo-on-Uz have spoken out against the scheme, along with local councils and activists.
Local Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake said earlier this month that the Home Office had informed him that the first group of 60 asylum seekers would move to the RAF base by 31 May.
However, a May 27 letter to Justin Ives, chief executive of Humboldton County Council, from a senior Home Office official said that “no final decision has been made by ministers to accommodate RAF Linton asylum seekers.” .
The letter added: “Analysis and consideration of whether to accommodate asylum seekers in RAF Linton is ongoing. As a result, I am unable to share with you any additional finalized evidence, impact assessments or deadlines. “
This raises questions about why the announcement was made to relocate the first group of asylum seekers.
Dr. Olga Mathias: “There are seven hours left, [the Home Office] they said they were unable to meet their own deadline. This is completely outrageous. Photo: Danny Lawson / PA
The RAF base – where Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, trained – is the first of a network of proposed asylum camps to help end the use of hotels for this group at a reported price of £ 4.7 million a day.
The Humboldton County Council sent a legal letter to the Home Office on May 25, explaining why officials believe the Home Office may have acted illegally with plans to house asylum seekers. The council also handed a notification of a breach of planning to the Interior Ministry, which required specific information so that council staff could check whether the plans violated planning controls.
Dr Olga Mathias of the Linton-on-Ouse Action Group said: “We just can’t believe the mixed messages coming from the Home Office. On April 14, they announced that they were doing this to us, no matter what – then a few days ago they said they hadn’t even decided to do it at all – and then after seven hours until the end, they said they hadn’t they cannot meet their own deadline. That’s completely shambolic. “
A spokesman for the Humbleton County Council said: “We can confirm that the chief executive of the Hambleton County Council received a letter Friday afternoon from the Home Office stating that no final decision has been made by ministers to accommodate applicants. Asylum at RAF Linton ”
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A spokesman for the Home Office said: “As we continue to work on the plan for the Linton-on-Oz Asylum Reception Center, which will be as self-sufficient as possible, we continue to listen to community feedback. We maintain that the site is urgently needed to provide basic asylum accommodation and will help as we end the use of asylum seekers using hotels that cost taxpayers almost £ 5 million a day.
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