Villagers in Piddington have vowed to mount a ferocious fightback against Labour's plans for a migrant camp, warning that the "anger, frustration and betrayal felt by our community" will fuel multiple legal challenges. The plans, fast-tracked by Communities Secretary Angela Rayner, would house 1,256 asylum seekers at MoD Bicester.
Campaigners say ministers have "gravely underestimated us" and are considering legal action to block the proposal. They have warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Ms Rayner that they could face jail under Labour's Hillsborough Law if anyone is raped or murdered in the village.
Villagers express anger and fear
Christina Gower, 26, a villager, said: "Disappointment barely scratches the surface of the anger, frustration and betrayal felt by our community. We are a village of approximately 300 adults, including 133 women, and 46 children. To this Government, we appear to be nothing more than collateral damage."
She added: "A small, rural community whose objections could be brushed aside, whose concerns could be dismissed and whose residents would eventually fall silent. They have gravely underestimated us."
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "This is a betrayal of the women of Piddington, but emblematic of Labour and Angela Rayner's disregard for the law and women and girls' safety. When I visited Piddington, I met a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep."
She added: "The Government said it was listening – instead it completely ignored this community's concerns. The 1,000-plus male migrants that Labour are about to deposit in Oxfordshire are in Britain illegally. They should be deported as soon as possible, not housed in areas completely unsuitable for the task. Only the Conservatives have a thorough plan to leave the ECHR and ensure that every illegal migrant is removed from our country as swiftly as possible."
Safety fears and official response
Labour wants to house more than 1,200 migrants on the site for at least 10 years. Home Office sources "welcomed" Ms Rayner's decision, with officials now saying it will help create a "fairer distribution of asylum seekers". In her decision letter, the former deputy prime minister agreed "that national demand for asylum accommodation remains high", and that sites like MoD Bicester will help "address the shortage of suitable single-occupancy provision".
Some women in the village have started taking self-defence classes, while others have said they will no longer walk their dogs alone. Mothers have also said they will no longer let their children play outside, with many set to spend more time at home.
Mum-of-three Victoria Hubbocks said: "I'm just really disappointed. No Labour MP has ever been here, so I don't think they understand the scale of what they have just approved. For me, it's sadness, and it's sheer disappointment that my children and I, we moved here 10 years ago, in order to have the life that I had growing up in a village, and now I think the whole of their childhood is just going to be destroyed. Angela Rayner started off with being about women's safety, and she is the one that's now signed it and has probably thrown our safety away."
Jo Haw-Cook, who has lived in Piddington her whole life, added: "I'm very sad and I'm very scared, and I'm very scared for the future. I have two teenage daughters at home. I would have liked them to have felt that they could have remained in the area, to have run businesses in the area, or remained on the farm. And I think that will all fundamentally change. It's really sad that I feel I can't trust my own government. And that's heartbreaking."
Threat of legal action
Ms Rayner appeared to dismiss the women's safety fears, insisting they could be mitigated by CCTV and security guards. But Ms Gower said: "It's the fact that we are outnumbered 10 to one. We have no pubs, no shops, no buses, nothing. So, if these men wanted to just walk around the corner and cause disruption and attack, this is where they'll do it because there is nothing here. Their answer is: 'Don't worry, there'll be security on site 24/7, and there'll be CCTV.' But what that makes me think of is Rhiannon Whyte, and we all saw the CCTV footage of that man who watched her throughout her shift, and then followed her to the train station, and then brutally murdered her."
Tim McNally, chairman of Piddington Parish Council, warned ministers that villagers will "hunt them down" through the courts if any crimes occur after asylum seekers are moved onto the site. He said: "Hillsborough Law, which has been championed by Andy Burnham quite extensively, is all about people in public service taking responsibility for the actions they take. And if they're making decisions knowing, with the data, that what they're considering is a risk and puts people's lives at risk, they should then face the courts in the event of a risk. If we have a death, if we have a rape, have an assault, they will be called into court, and they could face a prison sentence of two years as a consequence. We'll hunt down them on behalf of the community that's been impacted by a criminal act that occurs."
Mr McNally said immigration officials have "done everything they possibly can to actually play down the risk and pretend it doesn't exist". He added: "They identify that we can be the collateral for their plan. And I'm not going to accept that. They keep saying, 'oh, there will be 24-hour security, 24-hour CCTV'. There's no respect for law and order on that site. They will be subject to a whole number of challenges personally. They'll be looking at their own security themselves. They will have tools, they'll have arms, they will do something to protect themselves because they'll have to."
Villager Melise Witkin, 59, added: "The Government know that because they were the ones that printed the leaflet – how to not rape our women and children. So, if they weren't worried, why would you spend hundreds of thousands printing a leaflet that they hand them when they come off the boats? As if they're going to read them. But by giving that leaflet, I suppose it says, 'well, we told them. We've covered, we've covered ourselves'."
A Home Office spokesperson said previously: "Planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MoD Bicester. However, a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken. The Government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1billion saved in costs since the election. This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites. These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community."
