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CAMPAIGNERS have called on new Home Secretary James Cleverly to shut down a “quasi-prison camp” that is being used to house asylum-seekers in his own constituency.
Refugees have been kept at the former RAF base in Wethersfield since July.
The site is surrounded by security fences and kept under constant surveillance. There is no public transport nearby and the nearest town is 12 miles away.
Activists say that they have received reports of suicidal intentions among the residents due to the conditions there.
Mr Cleverly admitted on Facebook that the remote nature of the site meant that it “wasn’t appropriate for asylum accommodation.”
Care4Calais chief executive Steve Smith said today: “We agree with the new Home Secretary — the Wethersfield camp is not appropriate for asylum accommodation.
“The survivors of torture and modern slavery are routinely being sent to this prison-like camp, held behind barbed wire fences and prevented from leaving on foot.
“This is all happening in the new Home Secretary’s own backyard.
“His first action in his new role should be to close this site of segregation. If he doesn’t, we will be taking him to court.”
