Police commissioner will fight RAF base asylum plan

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) said he would fight government plans to turn a former RAF base into accommodation for asylum seekers.

Suffolk and Norfolk police currently lease RAF Barnham near Thetford for specialist training programmes, and had made plans to buy the site.

Speaking at the Conservative party conference, Suffolk's PCC Tim Passmore told the BBC: "I was astonished when we suddenly heard from the Home Office they wanted to use it as an asylum centre."

The Ministry of Defence said: "We have been engaging regularly with Suffolk Police and notice has been provided in line with the existing arrangements."

The Home Office has been approached for comment. On its website, it said it was carrying out "routine exploratory work to understand the site's potential", and any proposals would have to be submitted for planning permission.

"We were looking to purchase the site because there are opportunities for things like driver training, dog training, firearms, possibly on a regional basis," said Passmore.

He said he would oppose any move to cancel their lease, "because we've invested a lot of taxpayers' money in the facility".

"We have big plans, including things like document and artefact storage - at the moment we're spending money storing them elsewhere," he said.

Passmore said his force had received legal advice that they would require six months' notice to vacate the property.

"We still have not had any official termination of the lease, so we're going to be there for at least six months anyway."

He said he had written to the Home Secretary and instead received a reply from the immigration minister.

"It didn't say anything apart from the fact they want to work with the police. Well if that's the case, leave RAF Barnham for us: don't undermine the police by turning it into an asylum seeker centre," he added.

Passmore said his personal view was that such a facility "in the middle of the countryside" was "utterly ridiculous".

"As the MP [for West Suffolk] said, it would be far better if it were in an urban situation. I entirely agree with him."

Passmore also said he was "bitterly opposed" to plans to radically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales.

"I'm prepared to die in a ditch on this ridiculous idea of merging all of the forces in the eastern region into one.

"Norfolk and Suffolk would be two bit-part players in a mega force of six.

"If we ended up with [this], all the money will flow to the urban fringe, places like Luton and Bedford," he claimed.

"We need to preserve community policing, that link: it's difficult enough as it is at the moment," he added.

When the idea was announced in January, Home Office sources said reducing the number of forces would not make policing less local, and that its focus was on reducing duplication between forces.

The nature of the possible mergers was subject to a review, the outcome of which has not yet been published.

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