The Green Party Trade Union Group today joined calls to close the Napier Barracks site in Folkestone in Kent.
The site, which the Home Office is using to house hundreds of people seeking asylum in the UK, has been revealed to be unsanitary and dangerous. In recent weeks a fire has broken out, and The Guardian has reported that Kent Police have prevented asylum seekers from leaving the camp under threat of arrest under Coronavirus-related legislation.
The legal basis for the police action has been widely challenged, and migrants’ rights campaigners have called on the Home Office to take immediate action to close the camp and move residents to a safe location.
The Trade Union Group statement follows a similar call from the South East Kent Trades Union Council (SEKTUC), whose area includes the Napier Barracks site.
The Group called on the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliated unions to support the campaign to close Napier Barracks and similar sites across the UK, to provide safe and secure accommodation, and a full complement of assistance and legal advice.
