Mothers from the Oxfordshire village of Piddington, facing the prospect of a camp for 1,250 male migrants on their doorstep, have said they should not have to beg the Government for support, as no female Labour MPs have responded to their plea over safety fears for women and children. The village, home to just 350 people including 133 women and 46 children, is opposing Home Office plans to house young male asylum seekers in a neighbouring former MoD site.
Campaign group writes to female MPs
A campaign group of female residents, calling themselves the Women of Piddington, wrote to all female MPs in Parliament in recent days highlighting their security fears. So far, only four women MPs have responded, with Reform UK's Suella Braverman and Sarah Pochin meeting villagers in a show of solidarity.
Gina Perkin, 37, who has three young children, welcomed Ms Braverman and Ms Pochin when she met them with her youngest Zac, aged 10 months, but expressed anger at those who have stayed silent. "We should not have to beg the women who represent us to listen to us, stand alongside us and support us," she said.
"And when this situation goes wrong, which it will, we will remember who listened, who acted and who chose to turn away when the woman they serve were asking for help. And we will hold them accountable. The system is broken. No one voted for this. We are fighting for their children and their future, and we need to do what we can. We should not be treated as collateral damage in this experiment of theirs."
Residents voice fears over safety
Fellow mother Alice West, who has three young daughters, said four female MPs acknowledging the campaign was a start, but she hoped "more women in Parliament, from across the political spectrum, will now listen to us and add their voices too." Piddington resident Cheryl Coggins, 76, said she feels "worried" about the number of men who would be housed at the centre, adding she would feel less concerned if the plan was to move families in.
Ms Coggins said: "Purely because I'm older, there's a lot of young girls in the village, and you hear all the time what's going on, so I'm obviously very concerned about that, and I just don't think it's the right place for them. They must look elsewhere."
Many villagers are seeking self-defence lessons, upgrading CCTV, and looking at buying guard dogs. The security concerns come as Reform-led Essex County Council launched 'Operation Vanguard' with six security 'operatives' to patrol several towns, in what the council said was a "direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres".
MPs criticise government plans
Former Home Secretary and Reform MP Suella Braverman told the Daily Express that the current Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could personally cancel the plans for Piddington. "Having run the Home Office, I can say this very plainly, if the Home Secretary wanted to stop these plans today, she could. She could make the decision to cancel Piddington if she cared about the people who live here, there are 350 people, 46 of them are children, 133 are women, and on the edge of this small village she is saying it's absolute fine for 1,200 migrant men to be accommodated."
Ms Braverman added she was "heartbroken" for the women of Piddington, saying: "I'm devastated when they tell me they are taking self-defence classes, that they are thinking of trying to put up more CCTV, that grandmothers won't have their grandchildren to come and stay with them because of fears over their safety, it's heartbreaking. I think the Labour government is treating the people of Piddington with contempt, they are plainly ignoring these people are who terrified, who are having sleepless nights, who are fearful for their safety and who are not coming from a place of malice or mischief, they are coming from a place of a genuine desire to keep their village and their children safe, I think it's incredibly disgraceful that the government is so far ignoring them."
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said people in Piddington and Essex should not be in a situation where they have to ask for security because Labour plans are changing the "whole profile" of their communities overnight. She said: "It's entirely and utterly unsuitable as a location to dump 1,200 plus asylum seekers here in Piddington, there's no facilities, there's nothing for these young men to do. We hope to do everything we can to stop this going ahead."
Conservative MP Joy Morrissey, the shadow minister for women and equalities, said: "Speaking to the Women of Piddington today, what struck me was how frightened they are. Nobody asked these women whether their village could safely absorb well over a thousand unaccompanied men, and nobody has answered them since. This Labour Government is prepared to impose a real risk on women and girls in Piddington without a second thought. Women deserve to be heard, whether they live in a city or a village of 350 people."
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "These are decent, hardworking families who have been told to accept a decision made in Whitehall, with no consultation and no say, and then made to feel like extremists for objecting to it. Labour pretend this is about fairness, but there is nothing fair about dumping over a thousand single men on a village of 350 people."
Council and police respond
The Liberal Democrat-led Oxfordshire County Council said: "We recognise that residents in Piddington and surrounding communities have questions about the proposal and its potential impact. The council is working closely with partners, including the Home Office, Thames Valley Police, Cherwell District Council and local health partners, to understand the implications of the proposal and ensure community safety and cohesion remain priorities. It wouldn't be appropriate to speculate on measures that may or may not be required in the future. However, we'll continue to work with partners to ensure any risks, issues or concerns identified through the planning process are properly considered and addressed."
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "The site remains a proposal at this stage. We will continue to work closely with our partners, including the Home Office, to understand what is planned and any potential impacts."
