Villagers at Barnham in Suffolk and at Piddington in Oxfordshire are defending the tranquillity of their tiny communities against the mass settlement of migrants in their midst – 1,250 at RAF Barnham and 1,200 at Piddington.
The government, forced to abandon the policy of housing new migrants in hotels, has turned to military camps and HMOs (houses of multiple occupation). But people still oppose the forced settlement. “Barnham says no. Protect our community” read the placards, supported by West Suffolk Council and by local police citing risk to their specialist training at the site.
As of March 2026 there were 93,653 people in “asylum” accommodation. With too few available military sites or HMOs, 22 per cent of these (20,885) remain in hotels. Labour’s “one in, one out” deal has resulted in only 4 per cent being returned to France.
On 15 August, the Evening Standard estimated that over 3,000 migrants had arrived in Britain across the Channel on “small” boats.