Immigration centre reopening opposed by council

Campsfield House closed in 2018 after years of problems, including riots and complaints about conditions

The government's plans to reopen a controversial immigration detention centre have been formally opposed by a council.

Campsfield House, near Kidlington in Oxfordshire, was shut in 2018 after years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

The Home Office has committed to a pledge from the previous government to put the facility back into use, promising to work "at pace to clear the backlog left by the last administration".

But Oxford City Council, which is run by a minority Labour administration, passed a motion against the proposals at a meeting on Monday night.

Campsfield House falls within Cherwell District Council administration boundaries and is not covered by Oxford City Council - but members of the authority hope the vote will put pressure on the government to change its position.

Protesters from the Coalition to Keep Campsfield Closed had held a demonstration outside Oxford Town Hall prior to the meeting.

The motion to keep the detention centre closed passed with 38 of 40 city councillors present voting in favour and two abstaining.

All 20 members of the Labour group voted for the motion, publicly displaying their opposition to the plans of their party in Westminster.

Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini is an independent councillor on Oxford City Council

Independent councillor Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini told the BBC she was opposed to the concept of immigration detention as a whole.

"It's a policy that doesn't work, isn't effective and is also incredibly inhumane," she said.

"This prison was the site of misery and years of uncertainty for husbands, fathers and friends with the audacity to migrate and to seek asylum."

Fellow protester Hazel Dore said: "We were hoping for better from a Labour government - that they would be different to the Tories.

"This is putting pressure on them now to have the courage to be different and welcome refugees, not make them illegal."

'Increasing enforcement'

The Home Office announced in 2022 - when net migration levels reached a record high - it planned to reuse the facility, prompting protests by members of the public and local politicians.

The move would see the site become part of the government's plan to add 290 places to immigration detention capacity across Oxfordshire and Hampshire.

In a statement, the Home Office confirmed it would be going ahead with the plans to reopen Campsfield.

“As part of our planning for the development of the site, we have held discussions with local councillors and other local stakeholders, to better understand the impact of the plans on the local environment and communities,” it said.