Borders minister defends imposing 1,200 migrants on an Oxfordshire village of just 400 people after PM said middle class areas must accept more asylum seekers

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 08:42, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 08:55, 12 August 2026 Labour's borders minister today defended plans for 1,200 migrants to be housed near an Oxfordshire village with a population of just 400. Anna Turley said there needed to be a 'fair and equitable system' for distributing asylum seekers across the country. She also doubled down on Andy Burnham's insistence that wealthier areas must 'play their part' in housing migrants. The Prime Minister on Tuesday said he will make sure arrivals are not only placed in the 'poorest communities' when quizzed about proposals for a migrant camp near Piddington. Under Home Office plans, a former military base in Bicester, Oxfordshire, will provide accommodation for 1,250 male asylum seekers. But the residents of Piddington - a tiny village of around 400 people near to the proposed site - have voted to stage a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK as part of their protests against the plans. Ms Turley defended the proposals on Tuesday morning, telling LBC: 'This is about fairness. 'This is making sure that there is distribution around the country, and this is about a more fair and equitable system that limits the impact on local communities.' Labour's borders minister Anna Turley defended plans for 1,200 migrants to be housed near an Oxfordshire village with a population of just 400 The residents of Piddington are protesting against plans for a migrant camp at a nearby former military base Prime Minister Andy Burnham has insisted that wealthier areas must 'play their part' in housing migrants Asked about a potential influx of asylum seekers three times as large as Piddington's population, the Home Office minister said: 'Well, I suppose they're not going to be in the village. They're going to be contained in a former military base.' But pressed on whether asylum seekers would be free to leave the site, Ms Turley replied: 'They will be allowed out, but everything they need will be on that site. So they will be managed. They will be contained.' She added: 'They're on a self-contained site. We are looking at former military bases around the country. 'We are also looking at former industrial sites, student accommodation, other means by which we can put people in secure places that is contained, that is manageable and... is more affordable than putting people in hotels. 'We know where people are. We can manage the system.' Asked if she would be happy for a similar number of people to arrive in her Redcar constituency, Ms Turley said: 'We don't have a former military base... but the reality is it's about fairness.' She continued: 'The point the Prime Minister was making was this is about fairness. 'We take our fair share of asylum seekers in Redcar, and the point is lots of working class places around the country - I talked about Blackpool, places with hotels - have had to bear more than their fair share. 'And this is about fairness. This is making sure that there is distribution around the country, and that this is about a more fair and equitable system that limits the impact on local communities. 'By having secure and maintained and managed facilities like former military bases, it's a much better way to keep people in one place and reduce the impact on local communities.' Mr Burnham himself was asked on Tuesday about the plans for a migrant camp near Piddington. 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.' A record-breaking dinghy carried some 230 migrants across the English Channel on Monday Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. The PM added: 'It's obviously going to be challenging, but I am prepared always to listen to people, to work with people and to pick up legitimate concerns, and I will address those concerns. '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. 'We understand people's concerns and I will look into the issues raised by the good people of Piddington.' In response to the PM's comments, Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Andy Burnham is planning to dish out another vindictive punishment beating to the UK's middle classes. 'Labour has hammered hard-working families with punitive tax increases galore, increased regulation and soaring energy bills. 'Now, Burnham plans to deliberately flood more neighbourhoods with thousands of illegal immigrants who he has let into this country, and many of whom will commit serious crimes including rape and murder.'