Essex County Council has announced it will fund security teams to patrol towns near an asylum seeker accommodation centre, becoming the first council in Britain to do so. The patrols will operate in Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester due to concerns about a former airbase in Wethersfield, now the temporary home of about 800 migrants, all men aged between 18 and 65.
Operation Vanguard launched
Russel Quirk, Reform UK councillor for Hutton and deputy leader of Essex County Council, said the council would immediately launch 'Operation Vanguard' to protect residents after successive governments "failed to secure our borders". He wrote on X: "We are immediately funding security teams in Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester to provide a visible presence and deterrence in areas where migrants from #Wethersfield asylum centre are bussed every day."
He continued: "We are the first council in Britain to do this. It’s time that #Essex was properly protected from successive failing governments who have failed to secure our borders."
Council leader's concerns
Earlier this week during a tour of the site, Reform UK's Peter Harris, who leads the council, said he was concerned by the frequent shuttle bus service to the three towns now earmarked for security patrols. "We don't know who these gentlemen are, where they've come from, what their intentions are - and they are free to roam our towns," Harris told the BBC. "It is extremely worrying to me."
Harris said he will call on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to close the site, or stop the minibuses.
Home Office response
While the Home Office previously acknowledged people were concerned about crime levels, it said there was "no evidence" the men disproportionately affect levels of crime or anti-social behaviour. Everyone brought into Wethersfield is screened against policing, security and immigration databases.
The site was first repurposed as asylum accommodation under the Conservatives in 2023 and continues to be used as Labour seeks to eradicate the use of migrant hotels. Since July 2024, the number in use has dropped from 213 to below 160. In June, it was confirmed that the number of residents at the site would increase to 1,245 and it would remain open beyond 2027.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites. The number receiving support is now falling, with asylum costs down by £1billion since the general election."
