{"text":[[{"start":9.38,"text":"UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ordered officials to identify former military sites to house hundreds of asylum seekers, in a sharp reversal of the government’s policy as public anger over the use of migrant hotels rises."}],[{"start":26.730000000000004,"text":"Officials are examining the use of Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough Barracks in East Sussex to house about 900 single men who have arrived in Britain on small boats and are awaiting asylum decisions."}],[{"start":42.61000000000001,"text":"The policy marks a U-turn in the Labour government’s stance after it vowed in August to end the use of large military sites to house people."}],[{"start":52.41000000000001,"text":"At the end of June, about 32,000 people awaiting asylum decisions were housed in hotels and they have became a target for protests across the country for two summers in a row. In July and August 2024, riots broke out in several towns and cities while some demonstrations in recent months against immigration have led to violent disorder."}],[{"start":78.9,"text":"The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, became a focus for protests this summer after Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker staying at the hotel, was accused and later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and an adult woman."}],[{"start":96.74000000000001,"text":"The Home Office on Tuesday said it was “furious” at the continued use of asylum hotels, adding that repurposing barracks for accommodation was a more cost-effective option."}],[{"start":108.89000000000001,"text":"The previous Conservative government initially started using former military sites to house asylum seekers in an effort to deter new arrivals."}],[{"start":118.74000000000001,"text":"Labour had pledged to end the use of both Napier Barracks, near Folkestone, and the former Royal Air Force base at Wethersfield in Essex for asylum accommodation. Both sites remain in use."}],[{"start":132.82000000000002,"text":"Downing Street defended the government’s response to the migrant crisis and said getting a grip of it was a “core issue” of public confidence."}],[{"start":142.12000000000003,"text":"“Military sites can provide proper security, health and wellbeing standards, and that is what we’re intent on delivering, instead of luxury sites, as we’ve seen over recent years,” the prime minister’s spokesperson said."}],[{"start":157.27000000000004,"text":"Asked if the costs of using former barracks would be higher than using hotels, they said: “The costs will vary site by site, but our priorities are security and fairness.”"}],[{"start":172.11000000000004,"text":"Defence minister Luke Pollard told the BBC on Tuesday that the move would “enable us to take the pressure off the asylum hotel estate and enable those to be closed at a faster rate”."}],[{"start":184.86000000000004,"text":"However, the Conservatives’ shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the way to close the hotels was to stop small-boat crossings, which he said would happen only if all people arriving illegally were deported."}],[{"start":201.34000000000003,"text":"“Labour will never do this because Keir Starmer doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to his human-rights lawyer cronies and left-wing activists in his party,” Philp said."}],[{"start":212.57000000000002,"text":"The number of clandestine arrivals by small boats in the UK this year has already passed 37,000, more than the 36,816 recorded in 2024. However, it has not reached the record level of more than 45,000 recorded in 2022."}],[{"start":233.31000000000003,"text":"“This government will close every asylum hotel,” the Home Office said. “Work is well under way, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”"}],[{"start":247.70000000000005,"text":"A report published on Monday by the Commons Home Affairs select committee was damning of the government’s handling of the issue, saying the Home Office was wasting billions of pounds through “flawed contracts” on largely unsuitable accommodation."}],[{"start":264.55000000000007,"text":"The Home Office indicated the shift in policy was a result of instructions from the prime minister."}],[{"start":271.13000000000005,"text":"The government’s previous policy reflected the findings of a March 2024 National Audit Office investigation that found, after set-up costs were included, large sites such as military barracks were more expensive per person per night than hotels."}],[{"start":291.37000000000006,"text":"However, Alex Norris, a Home Office minister, earlier this month told the Commons Home Affairs committee that the existing larger sites were the cheaper option."}],[{"start":309.76000000000005,"text":"Hotels on average cost £144.98 per person per night, he wrote, while Napier cost £108.58 per night and Wethersfield £132. Wethersfield’s relative remoteness pushed up transport costs for that site."}],[{"start":328.86000000000007,"text":"Previous efforts to convert old military sites into migrant accommodation have triggered local anger and fears over the effect of the influx of people on local services, particularly health provision."}],[{"start":343.20000000000005,"text":"Cameron Barracks and Crowborough previously housed people arriving under the UK’s emergency scheme for those fleeing Afghanistan."}],[{"start":353.54,"text":"Angus MacDonald, Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, told the BBC that, while he supported use of military barracks to house asylum seekers, he found the choice of the relatively central Cameron Barracks “a bit odd”."}],[{"start":371.93,"text":"“I very much thought the idea of putting them in army camps was to have them out of town, and make them less of an issue for the local population,” he said."}],[{"start":382.33,"text":"Tuesday’s announcement comes after Chelmsford Prison on Friday accidentally released Kebatu instead of sending him to immigration detention ahead of deportation. He was rearrested on Sunday."}],[{"start":406.02,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1761694439_6218.mp3"}