Newport Pagnell hotel says there are no plans to house migrants

A hotel has said it has not been told by the Home Office that it has been chosen to house migrants.

Welcome Break, which runs the Ramada hotel close to the M1 services at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, said there had been no direct communication.

Milton Keynes Council said it had been told by the government that it intended to house 250 families there.

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

The Labour-run 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 be at higher danger of absconding".

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

Last month, plans to house migrants in the 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.

• New law may stop aid spending on asylum seekers

• High Court date set for migrant air base challenge

• Hotel will not be used for migrants, council told

A spokeswoman for Welcome Break said: "We want to emphasise that there has been no direct communication with the Home Office concerning asylum seekers at our hotel.

"We have not engaged in any business agreements with the Home Office or any government entity to house asylum seekers on our premises.

"Our hotel continues to operate normally."

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

In a statement, it said it was "working hard to reduce the unacceptable use of hotels by moving asylum seekers into alternative, cheaper accommodation, doubling them up in hotel rooms, and clearing the legacy backlog".

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email [e-mail] or WhatsApp [phone]