Home Office must stop housing asylum seekers in military barracks, reports says

A damning report by MPs says the Home Office must stop housing asylum seekers in military barracks.

The All-Party Group concluded accommodation like Napier Barracks in Kent was not only inappropriate but harmful.

They said asylum seekers had suffered "appalling treatment and conditions" which had left them feeling "dehumanised and suffering a profound deterioration in their mental health".

The report concluded the government was comprehensively failing some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Earlier this year, immigration minister Kevin Foster confirmed the Home Office's plan to continue to use Napier Barracks beyond September, when its initial one-year contract expires.

The measure was initially billed as a temporary solution for asylum accommodation during the pandemic.

But it is now thought the site could be used until 2025.

A Home Office spokesperson said residents are not detained at the Barracks and they have their basic needs catered for.