Napier Barracks: Asylum seeker site must close, MPs say

The site was meant to be temporary accommodation during the pandemic but its use was extended for five years

A former military barracks housing asylum seekers must be shut down immediately, MPs and peers have said.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Immigration Detention visited the Folkestone site in February.

In its report out this week, it said the Home Office had "failed to address the fundamental problems at the site".

A Home Office spokesman said "significant" improvements had been made following a High Court judgement that it was inadequate.

An inspection in 2021 raised concerns about the accommodation

The 130-year-old military site has been dogged by allegations of poor conditions, after numerous inspections since February 2021.

In June Mr Justice Linden said the barracks were "squalid" and it was unlawful to house cross-Channel migrants there.

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"Substantial improvements" were needed, he said, to address the "filthy... decrepit" facilities as well as overcrowding, a lack of ventilation and fire safety concerns.

However, the report from the recent APPG inspection concluded those changes had not been implemented.

A fire broke out at the site following a disturbance in 2021

The building continued to be in an "extremely poor" state, there was inadequate safeguarding of vulnerable people and a "near total lack of privacy", it said.

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

The MPs said they remain "deeply concerned", and called for Napier to be closed with "immediate and permanent effect".

Inspectors in 2021 said the barracks were "filthy"

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The use of Napier Barracks as contingency accommodation is vital in helping us to accommodate and support destitute asylum seekers.

"Significant works have been carried out to improve the conditions, management and oversight. Napier is safe, warm, dry, and provides a choice of good hot meals as well as proper laundry, cleaning and multi-faith religious facilities."

The House of Lords is due to debate how planning permission was granted for the Home Office to use the barracks until at least 2026, despite it initially being billed as temporary accommodation during the coronavirus pandemic.

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