Former military barracks housing migrants to close

Napier Barracks, in Folkestone, can accommodate up to 328 people in it and has been housing asylum seekers since 2020

A former military barracks housing asylum seekers is to close in September, the Home Office said.

Napier Barracks, in Folkestone, has been dogged by allegations of poor conditions and faced calls from MPs to be shut down.

The Home Office said the site, which has housed asylum seekers since 2020, will be handed back to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

A Home Office spokesperson said the asylum system was under "unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed, having to be housed in asylum accommodation at an unacceptably high cost to the taxpayer".

In previous inspections, concerns were raised over cleanliness at both camps and inspectors said some areas were filthy

Asylum seeker Mohammad Alliji was smuggled into the UK on a small boat, but told BBC South East that the state of his accommodation made him want to return to his home country.

"I want to go back to Syria. When I'm living my first two months in the UK like this, it's hard to live," he said.

But Samuel Dawit, an asylum seeker from Eritrea, said about the accommodation: "Everything is good."

A MoD spokesperson said Taylor Wimpey, which purchased the site for redevelopment, would take possession in March 2026.

"Napier Barracks are surplus to defence requirements. Once vacant, the site will be handed back to the MoD in preparation for final decommissioning activities to be completed," they added.

Napier Barracks was meant to be temporary accommodation during the Covid-19 pandemic but its use was extended for five years.

The 130-year-old military site was dogged by allegations of poor conditions following numerous inspections since February 2021.

MPs in 2022 compared the site to a prison and said it was "fundamentally unsuitable for use as asylum accommodation".

Nearly 200 people contracted Covid-19 during an outbreak at the camp.

The High Court later heard the Home Office "always accepted" people living in barracks were at an increased risk of catching Covid-19.

A fire at the former army barracks was started deliberately in January 2021

Following the outbreak of the virus, a fire at the former army barracks was started deliberately in January 2021, police said.

At the time, the Home Office said people had "set about destroying the barracks" because they objected to not being moved from the site after a Covid outbreak.

Former Home Secretary under the Conservative government Priti Patel called the "destruction... deeply offensive to the taxpayers of this country".

The Home Office spokesperson added: "We are absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels and as part of this, we have extended the use of Napier Barracks as asylum accommodation until September 2025."