New Bishop of Lincoln 'not convinced' that asylum seekers should be housed at RAF Scampton
Video report by Jonathan Brown
The new Bishop of Lincoln has said he is "not convinced" that the former Royal Air Force station in Scampton is the right place to house asylum seekers.
The Rt Revd Stephen Conway was confirmed as the new permanent Bishop of Lincoln in a ceremony at Grimsby Minster, having served as the acting bishop since early 2022.
His appointment has been made following the retirement of his predecessor, The Rt Revd Christopher Lowson, who accepted a misconduct penalty over accusations that he failed to respond appropriately to safeguarding disclosures two years earlier.
Asked for his thoughts on the plans for the former base, Bishop Stephen said: "I am not convinced that Scampton is an appropriate place to house people who are seriously traumatised and arriving with us from places of great distress".
However, he went on to say the country does have a "duty of care" for people who "come to us in that kind of distress".
The site at RAF Scampton is one of a number of former military bases which the government plans to use to accommodate people who come to the UK while their asylum applications are processed, to reduce the current reliance on hotels to do the same job.
But the plans have been highly controversial, with widespread opposition among local people and officials.
West Lindsey District Council, the local authority responsible for the area where RAF Scampton is situated, is currently challenging the decision in the High Court.
It says a regeneration scheme worth £300 million has been thrown into jeopardy by the Home Office's decision.
The Home Office plans would see up to 2,000 people housed on the site, which used to be the home of the Red Arrows display team but stopped being used by the RAF in March this year.
Following reports that Scampton Parish Council has been informed that the first group of up to 200 asylum seekers could arrive by mid-August, a council statement said it remained "totally opposed" to the proposals and did not believe the former base "in any way represented a suitable or viable site for the temporary housing of asylum seekers".
In a statement, a Home Office spokesperson said: "Delivering accommodation on large scale sites will provide cheaper and more suitable housing for those arriving in small boats, whilst helping to reduce the costly use of hotels."
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