Furious residents have protested against plans to evict war heroes from their historic base in Scotland to make way for 300 male asylum seekers – with SNP councillors joining the backlash.
The Queens Own Highlanders Regimental Association, based at Cameron Barracks in Inverness, will be moved from the site as part of the Home Office‘s proposal to turn it into asylum accommodation by the end of the month.
Locals living near the base joined sickened war veterans for a protest against the proposal over the weekend, with crowds chanting ‘send them home’ met by counter-demonstrators waving ‘refugees welcome’ signs.
SNP-led Highland Council has also come out fighting, arguing the base’s location is ‘inappropriate’ and risked ‘community cohesion’ – a stark contrast to the party’s usual rhetoric around immigration and asylum.
The Highlands revolt is mirrored by the situation in the town of Crowborough in East Sussex, which has seen a series of protests over the prospect of 600 single men being housed in a nearby army training camp.
A march on Sunday was attended by 2,000 people and followed an angry public meeting where local politicians were shouted at and chased out of the community centre hall on Thursday night.
Residents said they have already installed panic alarms in their homes amid safety fears, while others raised concerns about 600 extra people registering with local GPs at a time appointments are already hard to come by.
Locals gathered in Inverness city centre on Saturday for a protest over the plans for Cameron Barracks
Locals gathered in Inverness city centre on Saturday for a protest over the asylum plan
An anti-migrant protester is led away from Sunday’s demonstration in Inverness
Hundreds of anti-migration and counter-protesters faced off in Inverness at the weekend amid growing tension over plans for Cameron Barracks.
There were about 200 campaigners on both sides at the demonstration’s peak as they gathered on Inverness High Street on Saturday, with many coming from other parts of Scotland.
The event was the first official protest over Labour’s plans – and the result would leave no one in any doubt about the extent of the Highland revolt.
Isabelle MacKenzie, Conservative Councillor for the Millburn area where the Barracks are based, said: ‘Inverness has never seen anything like this. And I believe this is just the beginning.’
Saltires were flying high as protesters chanted through megaphones and blared sirens.
‘Send them home, send them home, send them home’ was belted out over megaphones by the organisers of the ‘Inverness Against Illegal Migrant Barracks’ event.
Charlie MacIvor, 68, proudly displayed his ‘HM Armed Forces’ badge on his lapel. The Inverness resident served 25 years in the Queen’s Own Highlanders and the Royal Corps of Transport.
He said: ‘I am totally against this. Why are they sending all these people into Army barracks? A wee place like Inverness can’t cope with an influx of that number of people.’
Graham Cameron, 66, a veteran of the Royal Air Force, was more direct.
He demanded: ‘Veterans who are homeless don’t get any support from this Government – why give it to illegal immigrants?
‘I believe we should be helping our own people first. I am not far-right but I would like to invite Keir Starmer and John Swinney to come up here and talk to us face-to-face’.
Cameron Barracks, a 140-year-old army recruitment base near the city centre, has previously been used to house Afghan families.
Locals gathered in Inverness city centre on Saturday for a protest over the asylum plan
It has long been home to the Cameron Barracks Regimental Association, which has been instructed to vacate the site before the arrival of the first asylum seekers.
The Association supports regimental veterans and their families financially as well as organising social events and reunions. It has an office at Cameron Barracks which will be lost as part of the asylum plan.
Sources said that the Ministry of Defence has informed the veterans’ organisation that they’ll be moved for up to a year until a longer-term solution can be found.
Highland Council is now calling on the Home Office to hold a public meeting over the plans.
The authors raise concerns that the location is inappropriate for a large number of asylum seekers and suggest regular engagement with communities by the Home Office ‘to address concerns, including a public meeting’.
Council Leader Raymond Bremner said: ‘While welcoming people in need and seeking safety, elected members last week raised a number of valid concerns about this proposal and the way it has been communicated.
‘We have asked to meet with the Home Secretary to discuss these issues in more detail.’
Home Office minister Alex Norris said any impact on locals living near the barracks would be ‘minimised’ and the security of people living in surrounding areas was ‘paramount’.
It comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood presses ahead with her plans to toughen up the UK’s asylum laws in the face of a growing Labour mutiny.
Inspired by Denmark’s crackdown, Ms Mahmood wants to quadruple the length of time asylum seekers wait for permanent settlement to 20 years. There will be reviews of refugee status every 30 months, with people returned if their home countries have become safe.
A sign held up at the protest read ‘600 unnamed individuals, single men, free to roam’
An aerial view of the military training base in East Sussex, where male asylum seekers are set to be housed
Other changes mooted include weakening the right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights and restricting the number of appeals allowed against refusals for asylum.
But government sources have desperately played down reports that they could emulate the controversial ‘jewellery law’ allowing officials to confiscate illegal immigrants’ valuables on arrival.
Ms Mahmood’s ‘moral mission’ is also facing massive resistance from Labour MPs, who accused her of trying to ape Reform’s hardline policies.
There are claims that at least one minister is on ‘resignation watch’, with MPs describing the proposals as ‘disgusting’ and ‘performative cruelty’.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.
‘This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway to move illegal migrants into military bases to ease pressure on communities across the country.’
The spokesperson added: ‘We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery.’
