First asylum seekers moved into former army camp

The first asylum seekers have been moved into a former military site in East Sussex, the Home Office has confirmed.

Twenty-seven men seeking asylum arrived at the Crowborough training camp, which will eventually be scaled up to house more than 500 male migrants.

The government said the move was part of its "mission to end the use of expensive hotels".

There have been frequent protests against the plans, which were first announced last year but had been put on hold.

Wealden District Council leader James Partridge said housing asylum seekers at the site was the wrong decision.

But he added: "We do need to make the best of it".

Partridge called on the community to come together "in the way we did when the Afghan families and Ukrainian refugees arrived".

He said the local authority was looking to see if it could legally challenge the move.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Crowborough is just the start.

"I will bring forward site after site until every asylum hotel is closed and returned to local communities."

The announcement of the plans in October sparked mixed reactions from the community.

Some were concerned about safety and the potential impact on local services, though others called for compassion.

Crowborough Shield, which describes itself as a non-political, voluntary residents group, launched a legal case against the plans in December.

A spokesperson for the group said: "Despite our collective, lawful, peaceful and consistent efforts to get the home secretary to listen to our concerns, she has ignored them."

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called it "another day of shame for the Labour government".

He accused the Home Office of having "kicked out" army and RAF cadets who use the site for training every year.

The government has said moving to large sites like Crowborough is an important part of its "reforms to tackle illegal migration and the pull factors that make the UK an attractive destination".

More than 400 hotels were opened under the last government at a cost of £9m a day, according to the Home Office.

Now just under 200 remain in use, with overall asylum costs down 15%, it added.