''Village's armed forces personnel in peril if asylum seeker centre goes ahead''
MP Kevin Hollinrake's been debating the plans for Linton-on-Ouse in the Commons
The lives of current and former armed forces personnel could be in "peril" if Government plans for an asylum centre in Linton-on-Ouse go ahead, the area's MP has warned.
Plans are under way for a disused North Yorkshire RAF base to be used as an accommodation centre for up to 1,500 asylum seekers.
Speaking out against the "half-baked" plan, Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) told the Commons the village currently only has a population of around 600 and is the "wrong location".
He said: "People do not feel safe. And some of those ... I think those fears are rational. I don't think they're irrational fears.
"In any cohort of 1,500 young, single men, you're going to get some who do not play by the rules. The vast majority will, but that's very little comfort to people who are genuinely in fear of their lives and their wellbeing.
"I've had children as young as nine writing to me, meeting me at these public meetings, saying how panic-stricken they are."
Addressing concerns for armed forces personnel who own a home in the area, he said: "There is very little chance of selling any house in Linton-on-Ouse at the moment.
"So, you're basically saying to service personnel, or former service personnel, who live in the village, and it's commonly known where they live, and there may be that people hold a grudge, some of the service users may hold a grudge against service personnel who've fought in Iraq and elsewhere, that that grudge that may be held against them, may put their own lives at peril.
"No consideration has been made of that. It cannot be right that the Home Office is not showing a reasonable duty of care to the local residents.
"It is the wrong place. There is no way to mitigate this facility in a way that will make residents feel safe and be safe," he added.
"This is not just about it not being right for the residents," he told MPs, pointing to a lack of suitable services or infrastructure, and saying "it's not right for the asylum seekers either".
He described the Home Office's approach "as pretty much an abuse of power" and "ill-informed in terms of the issues we see on the ground".
"I think I would summarise these proposals as something that is a convenience in as such that the availability of a site has taken precedence over the suitability," he told MPs.
"It appears to me - and you know, I'm sure this isn't the Home Office's intention - but this village is collateral damage to a wider policy, and it can't be right to put the whole of the burden of a single national policy, however important it is, on one small community," he added.
He acknowledged that he did not know how long the site could be based there but estimated "people's lives are going to be blighted for a decade at least".
He said if the Government will not change course Hambleton District Council will bring a legal challenge.
Responding for the Government, Home Office minister Kevin Foster said: "This is not a decision that Government has taken lightly but the need for action to reform our asylum system is abundantly clear.
"Part of that does include accommodation centres and this Government will not shy away from taking the necessary steps to fix our broken asylum system, and to ensure that we have an accommodation system which is no longer reliant on hotels as the default option."
He added that the Government recognises the need for "an open dialogue with the local community".
Mr Foster went on: "(We) are putting in place a programme of communications to keep people in and around Linton-on-Ouse informed alongside meetings for local people to attend, and we do recognise the strength of feeling within the local community about this issue.
"There is a strong determination within the Home Office to ensure everything possible is done to answer people's questions and lessen their concerns whilst recognising the objections being made."