Police ready to tackle any 'criminality' in potential Linton-on-Ouse asylum protests

The Home Office wants to move asylum seekers out of hotels, and it’s eyeing up the former RAF base as a place to move the migrants to.

North Yorkshire Police has said officers are ready to deal with any criminality after concerns were raised over potential protests at the planned asylum centre at RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

The former air force base is one of three MoD sites where the Government is seeking planning permission to turn it into a camp for around 1,300 asylum seekers.

This is roughly double the size of the military base’s North Yorkshire village, Linton-on-Ouse, which locals say is not appropriate for such a large influx of people and does not have the required infrastructure.

The Home Office wants to move asylum seekers out of hotels, and it’s eyeing up the former RAF base as a place to move the migrants to.

A previous plan in 2022 was dropped due to technical issues, but at the time local residents held several peaceful protests in the village.

The Linton Village Action Group which organised the campaign is expected to be resurrected, however there are also fears that more hardline protesters from outside the area could target the planned asylum centre.

In the last few years, anti-migrant protests across the country have turned violent, especially during the summer riots in 2024.

Thugs set fire to an asylum hotel near Rotherham, while earlier this month people targeted immigrants in their homes in Thetford, Norfolk.

Wetherby and Easingwold MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke, who represents the village, said he had spoken to North Yorkshire Police’s chief constable, Tim Forber, about potential protests.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “One of the main concerns is protests coming from either end of the spectrum, so those who are campaigning against immigrants and those who are campaigning for immigrants.

“Ultimately what the Chief Constable made clear to me was that on a weekly basis of protests, they do not have the resources from the whole of North Yorkshire to police that, because you need specially trained officers.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Our overriding priority is to keep everyone safe.

“We will facilitate people's right to protest – however, any behaviour that crosses into criminality will be dealt with appropriately.

“We have significant experience in policing protest activity, and the necessary resources in place to do so, while continuing to provide a policing service to all our communities.”

Sir Alec said people in the village were now unable to sell their houses, and he was concerned they would be pushed into negative equity.

Children are being pulled out of local primary school over the planned asylum centre, he revealed.

“Yorkshire Water sent me an email saying they were not confident the system could take the increase in pressure,” he explained, citing problems with the infrastructure for the area.

There was fury earlier in the week, when Prime Minister Andy Burnham said wealthier parts of the UK would have to “play their part” in housing asylum seekers.

Home Office Minister Anna Turley told LBC it is a matter of “fairness” for asylum seekers to be housed in such areas.

She said poorer areas with lower property prices had already taken their “fair share” of migrants.

The government said: “All crown development planning applications require engagement with local authorities.

“We are ensuring members of the public will be able to submit their views on the applications, so we can understand the impact of large sites on communities.

“No final decisions have been taken on the future of these sites, but we remain steadfast in closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation, including ex-military sites.”