Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer backs campaign to stop RAF Scampton from housing asylum seekers

The Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, says he "fully supports" the campaign to stop RAF Scampton from being used as an asylum centre.

The Home Office plans to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers at the former Lincolnshire RAF base as part of proposals to try and clear the asylum backlog.

There has been fierce local opposition to the plans, including a petition set up last month by the Labour parliamentary candidate for Lincoln, Hamish Falconer. So far it has received nearly 70,000 signatures.

Starmer recently met with Falconer in Scunthorpe when they discussed the plans.

In a video published on Twitter, the Labour leader said: "The government's proposal to house 2,000 asylum seekers at Scampton is going to drive a coach and horses through a really important investment opportunity that will see thousands of high-tech jobs of the future based in the area."

Local authority West Lindsey District Council also opposes the plans and has begun legal action against the Home Office. It says the Home Office scheme will curtail plans to deliver a "£300 million regeneration programme" and "put at risk the world-renowned heritage" of the site.

It has not been confirmed how long the asylum seekers will be held at the former home of the Dambusters and the Red Arrows as the government says it is still assessing the matter.

It also adds that the site will create new jobs and bring investment into the area, following the draw-down of the RAF facility.