A ‘virtual’ village hall meeting for residents of Penally has taken place as the community continues to seek answers over the placing of asylum seekers at an army camp in the quiet south Pembrokeshire village.

The meeting arranged and chaired by Labour Member of the Senedd, Eluned Morgan brought together a panel including Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Nia Griffith MP; the Police and Crime Commissioner, Dafydd Llewellyn and local councillor Jonathan Preston.

In a first for the village, almost 60 local residents joined the online meeting which discussed the Home Office decision, the plight of those seeking asylum and offered assurance that community safety was the priority for both the elected representatives at the meeting Dyfed Powys Police.

Eluned Morgan MS said: “Local residents have been let down by the Home Office and the Tory government in Westminster.

“Due to Covid-19, a public meeting was out of the question, so I convened a virtual village hall meeting that brought local residents together.

“As well as giving people a chance to have their say, I was keen to ensure the asylum process was explained to counteract the incorrect messages circulating on social media.

“There remains serious questions over why this so-called ‘emergency situation’ was allowed to go unchecked forcing the use of Penally camp as a centre for asylum seekers.

“The community has been robbed of the chance to have a proper consultation over this and the decision is causing a great deal of worry and anxiety especially for Penally’s older residents.”

COMMUNITY SAFETY

In response to those concerns, Dyfed Powys Police Chief Superintendent Jon Cummins and Pembrokeshire Commander Anthony Evans provided reassurance that the Force was working with the community and agencies supporting the asylum seekers to provide safety for all.

Additional resources have been made available and through their Neighbourhood Policing Teams, officers are actively addressing local concerns and providing a more visible presence.

Sian Summers-Rees from the Swansea City of Sanctuary who is working with Migrant Help and the community in Pembrokeshire seeking to support camp residents, also sought to reassure local residents that those who have made the long, often perilous journey to the UK would not cause trouble or seek to invalidate their claim to remain in the United Kingdom.

VIEWS TO WESTMINSTER

Over the last few weeks, politicians and residents have raised their views with UK Government ministers with little result adding to the frustration felt by local residents.

However, speaking from experience, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Nia Griffith warned that it was often the case that representations made to UK ministers in Boris Johnson’s government were ignored.

She said: “The community needed an opportunity to voice their concerns and by holding a private, residents only meeting I think Eluned has given those worried about this shambolic Home Office decision a chance to air their views.

“The last few weeks, the village has had to put up with those travelling from Swansea and further afield to protest this decision.

“Now is the time for those protests to stop and for the community to get the support they need, and I’ll certainly be raising their concerns on their behalf in Westminster.”

LOCAL VOICES

Penally resident, Naomi Chiffi said: “The meeting hosted by Eluned Morgan was very beneficial. By ensuring that the meeting focused on Penally residents and that all attendees had the opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions openly, meant that it felt very constructive and that the most important issues were being heard.

“It was heartening to hear such commonality in feeling about the welfare of the whole community - both the gentlemen in the camp and the local residents outside of it and of the mutual sense of disappointment felt about the lack of care and consideration for all parties involved on the part of the Home Office.

“I was personally very grateful to have had the opportunity to express my views to Eluned Morgan, Marc Tierney and Nia Griffith in a meeting that felt both positive and productive.”

Eluned has pledged to provide a written response to village residents and will hold a further virtual village hall meeting before Christmas.