60 men to arrive at North Yorkshire asylum centre "by end of the month"

Hambleton District Council has already started a legal challenge to stop the Government setting up the asylum centre in Linton-on-Ouse. In a statement released this afternoon, Cllr Mark Robson, Leader of Hambleton District Council said:

"At a meeting late this morning, we, along with the PFCC and local MP have been told by the Home Office that they intend for 60 people to arrive at the centre at the end of this month. We have in the strongest possible terms asked that the Home Office pause this proposal immediately to allow for consultation to be carried out and are awaiting their response to this ask.

We fully appreciate the worries and frustrations around this and want to reiterate that we are taking every action we can as quickly as the legal process allows. Please be assured we are pushing for the legal advice and subsequent ongoing process to get underway and will continue to be in dialogue with the Home Office."

The Linton-on-Ouse proposal is part of the government's new migration policy.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The asylum reception centre will help end our reliance on expensive hotels which are costing the taxpayer £4.7million a day, and we are engaging with local stakeholders about the use of the site."

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