Penally camp: Soon to welcome asylum seekers?

THE HOME OFFICE was neither able to confirm or deny information that had been obtained by The Herald that Penally Training Camp is the subject of a potential change of usage from a training centre for military personnel to a holding centre for up to 1000 migrants who are waiting to be granted asylum in the UK. 

The Herald has received information from a senior source within the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that the camp is to be used as a reception centre for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, with the hope of housing up to 1000 people at the camp until they are granted asylum and found homes in this, or other areas of the UK.

“The camp is subject to discussions to be turned into a ‘holding centre’ for migrants who are entering the UK. This would be a non-permanent home for the residents and they would be moved on when their applications had been processed.

“I have grave concerns about this, as the camp would require a huge amount of work doing to it to be able to contain these people securely until they are granted asylum.

“In Calais at the moment they are using the ‘Ring of Steel’ that was deployed around the Celtic Manor during the NATO summit in 2014. The current security at Penally is nothing like this.”

When posed the question “Has the Army Training Camp at Penally, Pembrokeshire been subject to discussions or plans as to a change of usage to become a migrant holding centre for up to 1000 people, and if so, when would these changes take place?” the MOD was unable to comment and referred the matter to the Home Office who returned with the reply:

“No decisions have been taken about the future of this site”

The reply neither confirms nor denies that the camp is to change to a reception centre for up to 1000 migrants, and implies that it is under discussion as a potential asylum site.

If it were to be true it would be the largest asylum centre of its kind in the UK. Currently there are 11 immigration centres throughout England and Scotland but none in Wales; Harmondsworth in Middlesex is currently the biggest with a capacity of 615.

In December 2015 the government shelved plans to house up to 1,500 migrants at a huge centre near the village of Littleton-upon-Severn in Gloucestershire after a barrage of complaints from local residents, many of which were worried it could interfere with village life.

In September 2015 David Cameron announced that the UK would accept up to 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next five years saying that the UK had a ‘moral responsibility’ to those living in camps near the border of Syria. Though opposition parties claimed that the UK should do more, with France taking 24,000 refugees over the next two years, attacked the number as being insufficient.

At the time of going to press The Herald was receiving fresh information and will continue to investigate.

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