A GROUP of MPs has called for the immediate and permanent closure of Napier Barracks after finding that asylum-seekers are still living in “run-down, isolated and bleak” conditions at the site. 

The report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on immigration detention, released yesterday, follows a visit by MPs to the ex-army barracks in Folkestone, Kent, in February. 

MPs said their visit confirmed that asylum-seekers being accommodated there continued to live in “run-down, isolated and bleak” buildings, in shared dorms of up to 12 to 14 people with a near total lack of privacy.

They also raised serious concerns about “inadequate safeguarding of vulnerable people” including victims of torture and trafficking, as well as poor access to healthcare and legal advice.

APPG chair Alison Thewliss, who took part in the visit in February, said it was “deeply concerning” to see Napier residents living in the “most dreadful of circumstances.”

“Many of those living in the barracks have fled conflict and have suffered unimaginable trauma — they should be treated with dignity and respect, and allowed to rebuild their lives,” she said. 

The report states that Napier is “fundamentally unsuitable” as asylum accommodation and must be closed with “immediate and permanent effect.”

The visit report comes after an inquiry by the parliamentary group last year found that being accommodated at Napier Barracks left many asylum-seekers feeling dehumanised and suffering a profound deterioration in their mental health. 

The group of MPs added that improvements to Napier following a High Court case in June 2021 had not addressed “fundamental problems” at the site. 

In that case, the judge ruled that conditions did not meet minimum standards and that the Home Office’s decision to house asylum-seekers there in September 2020 was unlawful. 

Despite the damning ruling, the Home Office last year passed a new law to grant itself planning permission to continue using Napier Barracks until at least 2026.

On Thursday, peers challenged this decision. Tabling a regret motion on the order, Lord Paddock, said it was “unconvincing” that the decision to continue using Napier was made when Parliament was not sitting. 

“The continued use of Napier Barracks … will have … a detrimental effect on both residents within and around the barracks and on social integration generally, and this house should regret it,” he said, before withdrawing the motion due to time constraints. 

Responding to the motion, Home Office minister Baroness of Trafford said that the only way to ensure additional capacity in the asylum system was to proceed with a special development order. 

She insisted that the Home Office had carried out a “significant amount of work” to improve conditions at the site, which has capacity for around 300 men. 

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The use of Napier Barracks as contingency accommodation is vital in helping us to accommodate and support destitute asylum seekers.

“Significant works have been carried out to improve the conditions, management and oversight. Napier is safe, warm, dry, and provides a choice of good hot meals as well as proper laundry, cleaning and multi-faith religious facilities.”