Wethersfield asylum seekers housed ‘unlawfully’ at air base
A High Court judge found that former Home Secretary Suella Braverman acted among three asylum seekers at the former Royal Air Force Base.
These people – MDP Wethersfield, Essex from July 2023 to February 2024 – argue that they live in “prison-like” conditions.
Judge Timothy Mold was told the shelter center was “seriously insufficient” and residents lined up with food and an outbreak of scab bugs.
Individual lawyers say they are vulnerable because of their background and their mental health declined severely during Wethersfield.
Justice Mold found that Braverman had violated his duties under the Immigration and Asylum Act of 1999.
He said the government failed to assess the “equal significance” of asylum seekers with disabilities or severe mental health problems in Wethersfield.
“This is the most serious and inexplicable omission,” he said.
“This is the most obvious failure of the defendants to fulfill their public sector equal obligations.”
The conservative government at the time announced plans to resettle immigrants in Wethersfield near Brentree in March 2023 and the Royal Air Force Scampton in Lincolnshire.
The immigrant moved into Weathersfield in July 2023.
There were initial plans to accommodate 1,700 people, but later capped at 580.
The judge dismissed the claim of a fourth asylum seeker, who is also a former resident of MDP Wethersfield.
In his judgment, Judge Moore said the then family secretary “requested” to act legally in each case and provide adequate accommodation to “poor” asylum seekers.
Attorneys acting for claimants say they are all victims of trafficking, torture and/or serious physical violence, and they “have a severe decline in mental health for everyone.”
“(The violation) shows that the Home Secretary must not only have a system that can operate legally, but she must act legally in every case,” they said in a statement to the media.
