Airbase asylum seeker numbers expected to rise 50%

The former RAF station has been home to asylum seekers since July 2023

The number of migrants being housed at a former RAF station could increase by 50%, the local district council leader has said.

MDP Wethersfield in Essex has been home to hundreds of single male asylum seekers since July 2023.

The Conservative leader of Braintree District Council, Graham Butland, said the authority was told last week that the current number of about 800 men could rise to 1,220.

The Home Office was approached for comment.

Butland told a full council meeting on Monday that the Home Office was considering using its "temporary surge capacity" to meet the demand of asylum seekers arriving in the UK.

He said "although no final decision has been made" numbers could rise "as soon as next week".

In February, the government increased the capacity at Wethersfield from 580 to 800.

Former Conservative Home Secretary James Cleverly represents Wethersfield in Parliament.

In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper he asked her to "urgently clarify the basis for this decision, the expected timeline, and how the Home Office intends to fulfil its obligations to the local authority and the local community going forward, especially in light of the current public concern and disorder just across the county in Epping".

Independent councillor Michael Staines, who represents the Wethersfield area on Braintree District Council, said the news was a "huge concern".

Butland cautioned councillors following the past week's protests and disturbances in Epping that "we do our utmost to keep the temperature on this down and not exacerbate the situation".

The Home Office has said it is committed to providing a "more sustainable and cost-effective asylum accommodation system", compared with the higher cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels.

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to put a date on when the government might stop placing asylum seekers at Wethersfield.