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Patel's refugee policy ‘panders to the far right’
Keeping residents in squalor was a ‘political decision,’ documents show
People at Napier Barracks in Folkestone after emergency services were called to an incident

The Home Office has been accused of pandering to the far right by dumping asylum-seekers in dilapidated army barracks after internal documents came to light suggesting the decision was politically motivated. 

The government has come under increasing pressure to shut down two Ministry of Defence sites where it has been holding hundreds of asylum-seekers since September amid serious concerns over safety. 

On Friday a fire broke out at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, part-destroying one building. A charity supporting residents there said that asylum-seekers had been “completely abandoned” without water, food or power following the blaze. 

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Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex, one of two barracks which will be used to house asylum seekers temporarily. Picture date: Tuesday October 28, 2025
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