Arabic version: بيرنهام يدعو إلى توزيع أكثر عدلاً لطالبي اللجوء

According to BBC News, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said wealthier parts of the UK should house more asylum seekers, arguing that poorer communities should not receive all refugee and asylum seeker dispersal. He made the comments to GB News on Tuesday when asked about protests in Piddington, Oxfordshire, over plans to accommodate asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.

Burnham said he would listen to concerns raised by residents and look into the issues in Piddington. He said he understood the proposal was about creating secure space, while adding that all parts of the country needed “to play their part”. The government announced in June that it planned to open three more military sites, including the site in Bicester, Oxfordshire, as it seeks alternatives to asylum hotels.

Labour has pledged to stop using asylum hotels. Immigration minister Anna Turley said on BBC Breakfast that the number of hotels had fallen from a peak of 400 under the Conservatives to 160 under Labour, and that all would close by 2029. She said the government had saved £1bn by closing hotels and opening alternative secure sites, including two former military bases, student accommodation and former industrial sites.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said asylum seekers should not be housed anywhere, “wealthy or not”, and reiterated the Conservatives’ policy of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to deport migrants. Government statistics showed 97,519 people were receiving asylum support at the end of March, including 20,885 in hotels and 72,768 in other accommodation. The north-east and north-west had the highest proportions of supported asylum seekers, at 26 and 25 people per 10,000 residents respectively.