The Home Office has been accused of pandering to the far right by dumping asylum-seekers in dilapidated army barracks after internal documents came to light suggesting the decision was politically motivated. 

The government has come under increasing pressure to shut down two Ministry of Defence sites where it has been holding hundreds of asylum-seekers since September amid serious concerns over safety. 

On Friday a fire broke out at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, part-destroying one building. A charity supporting residents there said that asylum-seekers had been “completely abandoned” without water, food or power following the blaze.