Prime Minister Andy Burnham has refused to engage with residents of Piddington, Oxfordshire, despite plans to house up to 1,250 asylum seekers at a nearby former military site. Speaking to Peter Cardwell on TalkTV, Tim McNally, Chairman of Piddington Parish Council, expressed frustration over the lack of response from the Prime Minister.
Residents' open letter ignored
McNally said: "Every single media outlet on this globe has reached out to me personally. They've managed to get my email address. They've got my telephone numbers. Everyone can connect with me in an instant. And yet, since the 20th of July, when we had a live expression of our open letter to the prime minister on the day of his inauguration. He still hasn't responded."
He added that the only response came via his X (formerly Twitter) account, Piddington Roars, where residents published a reply from Number 10. "They wrote back and said we apologise, Andy Burnham is not going to be available to come and visit your village, and the issue and matters regarding the asylum site...we ask you to refer to the Ministry of Defence," he said.
Village concerns over asylum site
Piddington, a 40-minute drive from Oxford, is home to just 268 adults and 46 children, with no shops or pubs. Residents say their quiet lives will be transformed if the former MoD Bicester site is used to house asylum seekers. The site sits close to a recreation area, sports pitches and homes, with some gardens backing directly onto it.
Minister of State in the Home Office Anna Turley told LBC radio: "They’re not going to be in the village, they’re going to be contained in a former military base, they will be allowed out, but everything they need will be on that site." She added: "We are looking at former military bases around the country, we’re also looking at former industrial sites, student accommodation, other means by which we can put people in secure places that is contained and is manageable – going back to the beginning of our conversation – is more affordable than putting people in hotels."
Prime Minister's stance on dispersal
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday that the Government will make sure arrivals are not only placed in "the poorest" communities, and that wealthier communities must also "play their part" in hosting asylum seekers. He told GB News: "I will listen to what people are saying and respond to the concerns that they are putting forward. I don't know the issue yet in detail, but in some ways, as I understand it, it is about creating secure space."
He added: "I do have to say, we cannot have a situation where it's only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers. I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part."
