Plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been scrapped because they do not represent value for money, the Home Office has said. Opening the site from the autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122m by the end of its use in 2027, it added.
The site, which was home to the Dambusters and Red Arrows, had been earmarked by the previous government to accommodate migrants. Sarah Carter, of the Save Our Scampton campaign group, told the BBC it was “amazing news” and that she wanted “everyone to feel how I feel right now.
Sir Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, said he was “absolutely delighted”, adding it was the end of a “two-year battle”. He said: “I view this as a vindication and now we must move on.” Sir Edward added Scampton was “absolutely unique” and renewed his backing for regeneration of the historic site.
Source: BBC
In other news – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defends cutting winter fuel payments
Sir Keir Starmer has defended scrapping winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners, saying his government had to take “tough decisions to stabilise the economy”.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir of choosing to fund “inflation-busting pay rises” for train drivers over support for vulnerable pensioners. Read more
