Planned asylum centre near Oxfordshire village to face legal challenge

Ministers will face a legal challenge over plans to convert a Ministry of Defence site near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington into accommodation for more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers.

It emerged on Thursday that Angela Rayner, the housing and communities secretary, has approved full planning permission, a decision welcomed by the Home Office, who want to end the use of asylum hotels.

Tim McNally, the local parish council chair, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme there would be “many actions” by villagers, and that ministers should “absolutely” be braced for a legal challenge, which would need to be lodged within the next six weeks.

Ministers have faced opposition over the plans from villagers, who even made a symbolic attempt to declare the village independent from the rest of the country after a referendum of its 350 residents. Asked how the village would respond, McNally said: “There’s going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward.”

Asked if ministers should be braced for a legal challenge, he said: “Absolutely, absolutely.”

Campaigners could also apply the new Hillsborough law, which is being considered by parliament. Once passed, the law would create a legally enforceable duty of candour that compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place.

“Today is a day of reflection, and we’ll work out where we plan to go from this point. But I will say, the Hillsborough law is there for a reason, and we’re going to apply it,” he said.

Luke Pollard, the defence minister, said the government would continue to engage with the community. He told LBC: “It’s pretty obvious that there’s a strong sense of feeling from the community around Bicester, especially in Piddington.

“The Home Office continues to engage with those. There’s still a few more stages to go here, so it’s not yet fully locked in and delivered, so that we can understand where the concerns are, so they can be mitigated.”

A Home Office spokesperson said a final decision to proceed had yet to be taken. “The government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1bn saved in costs since the election.

“This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites. These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community.”

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, said the plans were a “betrayal of the women of Piddington” and “emblematic of Labour and Angela Rayner’s disregard for the law and women and girls’ safety”.

She said on social media: “When I visited Piddington I met a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep. The government said it was listening, instead it’s completely ignored this community’s concerns.

“The 1,000+ male migrants that Labour are about to deposit in Oxfordshire are in Britain illegally. They should be deported as soon as possible.”