The Home Office plans to move migrants up to the Highlands next year – ignoring protests and pleas from local people concerned about public safety.
Inverness will soon be home to 300 asylum seekers(Image: Getty Images)
Fears have been raised about housing 300 undocumented male migrants beside military families after a spate of sex attacks perpetrated by immigrants in both Scotland and England. The Home Office announced plans to move the asylum seekers to Cameron Barracks as it bids to close controversial migrant hotels.
However, the proposals have been met with a major public outcry as the location is near the city centre – and public services will struggle to cope with an influx of new people. Safety concerns have also been aired, with a school and play park located near the barracks, and lax security rules meaning the migrants can roam about freely.
Now, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has written to Shabana Mahmood to air his fears about the safety of Army families who will be forced to live beside the encampment. Those service personnel will be deployed overseas early next year – leaving their wives and children behind for a substantial period of time.
He highlighted various sex attacks that have been committed by migrants, including two high-profile crimes in Falkirk and Elgin. He demanded to know how the Home Office will vet those who will be placed at the barracks.
READ MORE: Police Scotland release ethnicity details of rape accused in Glasgow and nationwide
His letter states: “We have seen cases in the news of illegal immigrants housed in hotels or ‘houses of multiple occupation’ committing abhorrent acts, including rape and other sexual offences. We have seen examples of this in Scotland in Falkirk, where Afghan Sadeq Nikzad raped a 15-year-old girl. His lawyers claimed that he had not been educated about the cultural differences between the UK and Afghanistan.
“In just one week, the press reported three asylum seekers have appeared in court in connection with a gang rape on Brighton Beach; a failed Somali asylum seeker remanded ahead of trial for sexual assault in Bournemouth; another asylum seeker living in a hotel appeared in court accused of raping a woman in Bournemouth; and two Afghan small-boat migrants convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl in Leamington Spa.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp
“I urge you to think again about placing unvetted male illegal immigrants close to women and children. Soldiers based here are about to be deployed overseas, leaving military wives and their children living on their own in proximity to young male illegal immigrants. Parents have raised safeguarding concerns about placing a large, single-sex adult population adjacent to schools and family housing.”
Afghan Rapualla Ahmadze, who claimed to be an escaped Taliban prisoner, raped a vulnerable teenager in Elgin, in Moray, in August 2024. The 21-year-old spotted the 17-year-old as she sat on a park bench. He was jailed for nine years at the High Court in Edinburgh and told he will be deported after his jail term.
READ MORE: Maggie Chapman insists ‘majority of Scots’ support immigration as she calls for special housing for migrantsREAD MORE: SNP Government ‘don’t believe’ in capping migration amid growing anger at immigration
Mr Philp urged the Home Secretary to confirm “what specific safeguarding and risk assessments have been undertaken’ and added: “Decisions of this scale, imposed without local consent or consultation, are wholly unacceptable.” Local politicians are also campaigning against this, including the SNP-run council.
Conservative leader at Highland Council Ruraidh Stewart said: “There are a lot of young families living around there who are very concerned about safety.” Ward councillor Isabelle MacKenzie added: “Military wives are furious and deeply concerned.”
It is understood that the Ministry of Defence will begin work on the barracks on January 12 but it needs to be revamped, requiring £1.3m of work to make it habitable. The Home Office has refused to back down to pleas for the plan to be axed as it aims to shut migrant hotels.
Never miss the latest top headlines from the Scottish Daily Express. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.