Ex-RAF base set to house refugees may be unsafe, files show

A UK military base due to accommodate up to 2,000 asylum seekers has been found to be contaminated with ground gases and unexploded ordnance, according to government documents.

- Diane Taylor

RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire is one of three mass accommodation sites earmarked by the Home Office to house asylum seekers as a supposedly cheaper alternative to hotels.

Ministers had initially planned to have 3,000 asylum seekers accommodated on three sites - the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, the Wethersfield former military base in Essex, and RAF Scampton - by the end of 2023.

But there are fewer than 1,000 people on the Bibby Stockholm and at Wethersfield and none at Scampton, though the first 60 asylum seekers are due to arrive there in the coming weeks.

A letter from Lee Rowley, the minister for housing, planning and building safety, addressed to West Lindsey district council, where RAF Scampton is situated, states that there are "potential risks to human health arising from ground gases, UXO [unexploded ordnance] and ground contamination which could affect both workers on the site and asylum seekers".