House migrants in hotels, not air bases - Cleverly

A former home secretary said it was better to use hotels to house asylum seekers rather than military sites such as MDP Wethersfield.

James Cleverly, the Conservative MP for Braintree, said when he was in cabinet he opposed the decision in 2023 to open the asylum seeker accommodation at a former air base near Wethersfield, Essex, but was "overruled".

"Whilst I was home secretary, I reduced the per-bed-cost of asylum hotels to the point now where it is better to use hotels than it is to use the large sites," Cleverly said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Wethersfield continues to be a better value option than hotels."

The National Audit Office reported last year that £338.7m will be spent on accommodating asylum seekers at Wethersfield until 2027.

MDP Wethersfield currently houses about 530 male asylum seekers, but there were initial plans to accommodate 1,700 people there.

Cleverly said when he became home secretary in November 2023 he argued the original number was too high.

"I knew right from the get-go that was untenable. I was able to persuade through evidence that was far too high and a cap was put on the number of people at Wethersfield," he said.

The number of migrants was capped at 580, which the government increased to 800 in February after improvements were made at the base.

Between 2023 and early 2024 there were reports of near nightly fights between different migrant groups and protests were held outside the base by residents who complained about a lack of medicine, blankets and clothing.

"This is an isolated site there is not much for these young men to do. They come from different communities and when they can be gently spread across the accommodation at Wethersfield some of those tensions reduced," Cleverly said.

"When they are packed together those tensions bubble over."

Kamena Dorling, from The Helen Bamber Foundation, said the charity has been assessing men staying at Wethersfield and had observed a deterioration of their mental and physical health.

"Men moved to Wethersfield are also denied access to justice. Many are attending interviews having never spoken to a lawyer or received any legal advice," she added.

Earlier this month, former home secretary Suella Braverman was found by a High Court judge to have acted unlawfully in housing three vulnerable asylum seekers at Wethersfield.

Emily Soothill, from law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn, said the practice had represented 75 asylum seekers who were moved from Wethersfield as the accommodation was "unsuitable for them".

Some of the asylum seekers recently spoke positively about living on the base, such as Kareem, 25, who told the BBC: "I love the camp, I love where I live."

Last year when in opposition, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper backed a parliamentary motion against special planning powers which allowed MDP Wethersfield to be used for asylum accommodation.

During the 2024 general election campaign, Sir Keir said Wethersfield needed to close, but added he would not put "an arbitrary date" on when it would be shut.

The current order permitting the asylum accommodation expires in April 2027.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "This government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain. That has inevitably meant difficult choices elsewhere in the short term, including increasing capacity at Wethersfield.

"Any decision about the long-term use of the site will be made by the home secretary at the appropriate time.

"The accommodation provided meets all relevant housing and health and safety standards."

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