Hotel will not be used to house asylum seekers - MP

It was thought the Ramada hotel close to the M1 services at Newport Pagnell would house 250 families

A hotel will not be used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers, an MP has said.

It was thought the Ramada Hotel close to the M1 services at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, had been earmarked after Milton Keynes Council said it had been told by the government that it intended to house 250 families there.

Ben Everitt, Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the Home Office had since confirmed it would not be adding another "asylum hotel" in the town.

It comes weeks after plans to use the nearby Harben House Hotel fell through due to the owner's criminal record.

MP Ben Everitt acknowledged that the politics around the issue had been "frustrating and disappointing"

Mr Everitt acknowledged that the politics around the issue had been "frustrating and disappointing".

Earlier this month, Labour-run Milton Keynes Council said it had "raised concerns that placing vulnerable people on a busy motorway junction would put them at risk to people-smugglers, exploitation and... higher danger of absconding".

It said it objected after it was "made aware of the plans in an email".

At the time Welcome Break, which runs the Ramada hotel, said there had been no direct communication with the Home Office.

'Remained empty'

In August, plans to house migrants in the nearby Harben House Hotel were suspended after a BBC investigation revealed its owner, Siddharth Mahajan, was convicted of offences linked to the operation of houses of multiple occupancy.

Harben House remained empty while the Home Office investigated the "contract situation", Mr Everitt said.

The government said the cost of housing migrants in hotels had risen to £8m a day.

The use of hotels has increased over the last few years as the number of people entering the UK illegally or claiming asylum has hit record levels.

The government has promised to "reduce" the use of hotels to house migrants while their claims are processed.