Penally Camp must not be used again to house asylum seekers - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Samuel Kurtz has stated in correspondence to the Home Office.

With reports suggesting the UK Labour Government is looking again at using old military sites for asylum accommodation, Welsh Conservative Mr Kurtz has written to Home Secretary, The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP outlining his concerns.

The camp, which has been in existence since 1860 as a military training facility, was prominent in the headlines between October 2020 and March 2021 when it became the controversial base for asylum seekers during the pandemic.

Amid protests from inside and outside its gates, the camp housed up to 250 asylum seekers at the height of its occupancy.

Eventually, the training camp returned to Military of Defence control, following a damning inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration, which highlighted the environment as being “rundown”, “impoverished” and “unsuitable for long-term accommodation”.

Mr Kurtz remarked: “Penally Camp must not be used again to house asylum seekers. Reports suggest the UK Labour Government is looking again at using old military sites for asylum accommodation.

“Together with Welsh Labour’s Nation of Sanctuary policy, I am seriously concerned this could lead to Penally Camp being used again. We cannot allow that to happen.

“Labour has failed to stop the criminal gangs, and by scrapping the Rwanda scheme it has made the crisis worse. That is no excuse to repeat past mistakes.”

In his correspondence written on November 4, Mr Kurtz states that reopening the site would risk repeating the ‘serious mistakes’ of the past, commenting: “When Penally was previously used to house asylum seekers, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and HM Inspectorate of Prisons issued a joint report that was highly critical of the site's suitability.

“These findings are a matter of public record and demonstrate that Penally is not an appropriate environment for housing asylum seekers.

“Its rural location, limited infrastructure, and distance from essential services make it ill-equipped to meet the needs of those seeking refuge.

“The camp's previous use also placed additional strain on already stretched local services such as GP and dental provision, while causing understandable anxiety within the local community.

“While I recognise the pressures facing the asylum system given this UK Labour Government's failure to 'smash the gangs', and its decision to scrap the Rwanda scheme has undoubtedly exacerbated these pressures, but this cannot justify a return to inadequate and inappropriate forms of accommodation such as Penally.”

County councillor for the ward, Cllr Phil Kidney recently told the Observer that he doesn’t believe Penally Camp can ever be a ‘suitable location’ for housing large numbers of asylum seekers again.

To add to that, Cllr Kidney was told by Pembrokeshire County Council this month: “We are not aware of any plans by the Government to use this site for that purpose again. Should any formal proposals be brought forward, we would expect to be consulted in advance.”