KEMI Badenoch has suggested setting up camps to house asylum seekers – as she visited a town which has been rocked by far-right anti-migrant protesters.
The Tory leader floated the idea of camps as she met with residents of Epping, Essex, which has become a focal point for protests after an asylum seeker allegedly sexually harassed a schoolgirl in the town.
Badenoch said: “We’ve got to turn things around very quickly. We cannot use rules from 1995, or 2005, or even 2015 for 2025.
“Our world is changing very quickly, and we need to adapt to it.”
Badenoch said: “Is it possible for us to set up camps and police that, rather than bringing all of this hassle into communities?
“As a party, we need to also hear from the community about what you think the solutions are. We don’t have all the answers; it’s important that we make sure that the community is part of the problem solved.”
Refugee camps are sometimes tolerated by governments, including the short-lived “Calais Jungle”, which was eventually cleared and demolished by the French government.
Residents lived in squalor and suffered from conditions including scabies while access to clean drinking water and toilet facilities was limited.
Epping is one of a number of towns across England which have become the centre of anti-migrants protests over the summer. Asylum seekers are housed in the town’s Bell Hotel, which is now fortified with metal fences.
