The full list of military bases that could house asylum seekers revealed: As the Home Office scrambles to move away from hotels by taking over army camps instead, we map all the 2,000 possible sites

The Daily Mail can today reveal the full list of military bases that could be retrofitted to house asylum seekers.

Our map shows all 2,177 sites in Britain which could soon be commandeered by the Home Office to accommodate migrants as the government scrambles to move away from using hotels.

As part of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plans to reform the ‘broken’ asylum system, the department is working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to identify ‘appropriate’ military sites.

But when asked by the Daily Mail, officials refused to narrow down or provide any clues about which sites could be targeted.

So far, the Home Office has taken control of four military bases to house asylum seekers.

However, officials say the Home Office is hoping to house as many as 10,000 asylum seekers on military sites, meaning it will need around a dozen more military sites.

The constituencies with the most potential sites are Aldershot (37), East Wiltshire (35), Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber (32) and Richmond and Northallerton (25).

Out of the 650 UK constituencies, 591 of them have at least one base.

The MoD does not routinely publish details about the locations of military bases, but the list was released in response to a parliamentary question last week.

The four military bases currently in use are:

• MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, has housed asylum seekers since July 2023. It is located in a completely isolated area in the countryside, near the airfield. It has increased its housing stock by adding portacabins. Capacity: 1,245.
• Napier Barracks, a former military base in the east of Folkestone, Kent. It has housed asylum seekers since September 2020 but is set to close in December. It was built in WW1 and was earmarked for demolition prior to its current use. Capacity: 328.
• Cameron Barracks in Inverness, Scottish Highlands. This Victorian-era housing is located on a hilltop on the east side of the city, within walking distance of the city centre. Since December 2023 it has been used to house Afghan resettlement families but is changing to asylum seekers for 12 months. Capacity: 300.
• Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex. Located on the outskirts of the town, which has a population of 20,000, it was previously used to accommodate Afghan families evacuated in 2021. It will also be used to house asylum seekers for 12 months. Capacity: 540.

The transition to military sites will have to be done quickly, as the Labour government has promised to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of the parliament in 2029.

According to the latest figures, more than 32,000 asylum seekers – out of a total 103,000 – are languishing in expensive hotel accommodation.

Their soaring use was criticised as ‘squandering’ billions of pounds in a recent damning report by the Home Affairs select committee.

MPs questioned why the government was putting the foreigners up in such extravagant accommodation, while many Brits are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

The widespread use of asylum hotels, including luxurious buildings in desirable areas, has proven highly unpopular with the British public.

Ms Mahmood’s drastic policy change this week outlined that the government is aware that the nature of accommodation itself can be a ‘pull factor’ for the migrants.

Its report said: ‘Intelligence suggests that the prospect of a paid-for hotel bed is used to lure asylum seekers into small boats.’

As an alternative, it said it will move to a ‘large site’ model, including military bases, for asylum accommodation, which have proved controversial in the past for having allegedly ‘prison-like’ conditions.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently told the BBC he told Home Office and MoD officials to ‘go faster, go further’ to locate appropriate military sites. 

But critics have rejected the plans, claiming that they allow the government to ‘pretend’ to do something about the problem.

Robert Bates, research director at the Centre for Migration Control, told the Daily Mail: ‘Using unfenced military bases, rather than hotels, allows the government to pretend that it is taking tough action but will do nothing to dissuade illegal migrants from crossing the channel.

‘Many of these sites are on the outskirts of small towns and villages and this move will have a huge cultural and societal impact on the areas. It is entirely inappropriate to damage small communities in this way.

‘Military bases should only be used if illegal migrants are going to be detained. 

‘Allowing them to roam free in erstwhile undisturbed parts of the country will simply mean we see even more harrowing stories of crime being committed against British nationals.’  

Not much is known about the sites under consideration, but all four currently in use had some pre-built housing, as well as laundry facilities, communal spaces, faith and worship facilities. 

Last month, Steve Reed, the Housing Secretary, confirmed that the government was also looking to build pre-fabricated, modular units to help increase capacity at some locations.

The move comes as the costs of the Home Office accommodation contracts have more than tripled from £4.5bn in 2019 to £4.5bn in 2029.

A bed at an asylum hotel costs £145 per person per night, compared to £109 at Napier Barracks in Kent or £132 at MDP Wethersfield in Essex.

But the Home Affairs Committee report, which was published this month, stated that although the large sites are cheaper per night, they are actually pricier than hotels when the high cost of setting them up is factored in.

Nevertheless, the Home Office has said ‘lessons have been learned’ from their inherited acquisitions of large sites under the previous Tory government, and it will use this information to ‘inform its future accommodation procurement’.

Downing Street has so far indicated that some higher costs of moving asylum seekers from hotels into military sites would be worthwhile because the issue has become ‘an issue of public confidence’. 

Several European countries, including Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands, already use a large site strategy for dealing with their asylum seekers. 

The change to large sites shows that Labour has made yet another major U-turn, having previously criticised the Conservative government over the practice.

Within weeks of coming to power, they scrapped housing them in the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, and also abandoned plans to turn RAF Scampton, the former Dambusters base in Lincolnshire, into asylum accommodation.

Sir Keir initially pledged to end asylum housing at RAF Wethersfield but he has since changed his mind and it has been expanded to accommodate more migrants.

Ms Mahmood is understood to believe the bigger sites offer a way to end the use of asylum hotels, and could act as a deterrent due to their less appealing nature.

The Home Office believes the large sites will also ‘reduce the impact on communities’.

But when it announced last month that asylum seekers would soon be getting housed at Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough army training camp in East Sussex, there was a predictable public backlash. 

Both sites have seen widespread public protests and political opposition from local politicians concerned for their safety. 

Luke Pollard, the defence minister, said last month that if the ‘proof of concept ‘is achieved with the two sites in Inverness and  East Sussex, more could follow.

The largest site currently in use is the MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex.

The High Court was told in 2024 that it was like a ‘prison’ – after three migrants brought a case against a former home secretary describing tensions and outbreaks of violence within its walls. 

Due to its isolated location, migrants have to take a shuttle bus service to reach any of the three nearby towns, which run seven days a week, 365 days a year.

In the past, the MoD has been criticised for long-standing problems in maintaining their homes, with issues such as damp, mould, heating and hot water reported.

Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch UK, told the Mail: ‘If asylum seekers are to be moved from hotels and multiple-occupancy housing to suitably adapted military camps in remote locations, there must be adequate policing and no question of a bus or taxi service to the nearest town or village. 

‘Under current law and rules, those placed in such accommodation must be free to come and go as they please. This practice should end, as should the provision of additional financial support (£50 per week). 

‘However, these changes will only be possible once we are no longer bound by the ECHR and the Human Rights Act. The sooner we give notice to leave the former and repeal the latter, the sooner we can address the problem.’

This month, the Daily Mail revealed that further plans have been drawn up to send small boat migrants to six military bases around the country.

The bases include two sites in Norfolk, West Tofts and Wretham; Knook Camp in Wiltshire; Brunswick Camp in Surrey; Warcop in Cumbria; and Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire.

All the sites have been upgraded since 2020 and would be able to accept migrants immediately, defence sources have confirmed.

West Tofts and Wretham are located in a desirable part of south Norfolk, near the English Heritage prehistoric site Grime’s Graves.

Knook Camp is four miles from the market town of Warminster, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

Brunswick Camp is on the outskirts of Woking in the Surrey commuter belt, Warcop training camp lies on the edge of the Pennines and Castlemartin is just a few miles from sandy beaches in Pembrokeshire.

The government is also understood to be reconsidering the use of Linton and Catterick Garrison in Rishi Sunak’s constituency in North Yorkshire, although it is unclear how advanced the plans are, according to The Telegraph.

Despite the Home Office insisting that all of its military sites are strict ‘no alcohol zones’ with 24/7 security, the safety of nearby residents has been a major concern.

Locals in Crowborough said they have already installed panic alarms in their homes amid safety fears, while raising concerns about the 600 migrants registering with GPs in the county, with some already struggling to book appointments.

Areas which have a large asylum seeker population have previously seen an apparent uptick in crimes being committed. 

In Bournemouth, which has three hotels designated for them, there have been so many offences that some in the town have even started up so-called ‘vigilante’ groups to patrol the streets at night.

But Ms Mahmood has bullishly continued with her proposals, which have been described as the biggest change in asylum policy for a generation.

Inspired by Denmark’s crackdown, the plans will quadruple the length of time asylum seekers wait for permanent settlement to 20 years. 

There will be reviews of refugee status every 30 months, with people returned if their home countries have become safe.

Other changes mooted include weakening the right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights and restricting the number of appeals allowed against refusals for asylum.

The Home Office has also announced a ban on visas from three African countries – Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – if they do not co-operate more on the removal of illegal migrants.

However, Ms Mahmood’s ‘moral mission’ is facing massive resistance from Labour MPs, who accused her of trying to ape Reform’s hardline policies.

And when the new military sites are identified, there will undoubtedly be opposition from local residents.

Even those who have in the past talked about vowing to ‘welcome’ migrants, such as Green deputy leader Rachel Millward, seemed to change their tune when it was announced that hundreds of asylum seekers would be coming to their constituency. 

Last week, she said her ‘strong objection’ to the use of Crowborough training camp for housing migrants was based on ‘safety’ fears for both locals and asylum seekers themselves.

She added that ‘quite clearly accommodating 600 men on one site with no right to work brings significant risks’. 

Immigration expert Mr Bates added: ‘Local Lib Dem and Green Party politicians are in for a rude awakening when the areas they represent are transformed overnight by the sudden introduction of dozens of young men.

‘Perhaps this collision with reality will cause them to drop the open border fantasies that they love to parrot on the national stage.’

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels in this country.

‘This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway to move asylum seekers into more suitable accommodation such as military bases, to ease pressure on communities across the country.

‘We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery.’