UP TO 500 refugees could be housed  in a Hampshire camp with no mains power or running water, according to former immigration minister Caroline Nokes.

The Tory MP grilled Home Office minister Chris Philp in the Commons yesterday over proposed changes to asylum law, which she said could have “far-reaching consequences” if they come into force in January. 

New rules, published quietly last week, will prevent people from claiming asylum in Britain if they have passed through or have a connection with a “safe” third country.

In an urgent question, Ms Nokes raised concerns that this would “create a separate tier of asylum-seeker” in which claims would not be considered. 

She asked how such refugees would be returned when there is no mechanism in place to do so, and warned that they could be left “in limbo.”

Plans to house up to 500 asylum-seekers in portacabins on the edge of a Hampshire village in the Test Valley were revealed last week.

Ms Nokes, the area’s MP, said that people housed there would have no access to electricity or running water at a time when hygiene is critical due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Philp had also admitted that there would be no access to on-site healthcare, she said.

“Does he have a strategic plan or does he hope housing people on sites where he admits he will not provide healthcare will just act as a deterrent?” Ms Nokes asked.

Mr Philp claimed that the accommodation was “reasonable” and “good.”

He said that the policy changes would deter people from claiming asylum when they “could and should have claimed asylum previously in a safe country.”

Returns are currently carried out using EU arrangements which will expire on January 1 – but new arrangements for returns have yet to be made. 

Shadow immigration minister Holly Lynch condemned the changes as an “unworkable half-plan being introduced by the back door… with no opportunity for proper parliamentary scrutiny.”

The SNP’s Stuart McDonald also urged ministers to address the shocking 29 asylum-seeker deaths in Home Office accommodation this year, as revealed by The Guardian.

Mr Philp said that while each case was “very sad,” the number was “not out of line” with the population of 60,000 asylum-seekers in Home Office accommodation.

Under the proposed rules, the government will not only be able to asylum seekers will not only be returned to third countries they’ve travelled through but also any “safe” country that agrees to take them in. Campaigners have raised concerns that the changes would breach international law on the rights of refugees.

 In response to today’s debate Refugee Action chief executive Stephen Hale said: “This government wants to pull the rug out from under our international obligation to support people fleeing violence and persecution. “Their plans do not fix the asylum system. They won’t stop people risking their lives to reach our shores, or make certain decisions on claims are right first time, solve the housing crisis or alleviate suffering. “Instead they take away the human right to claim asylum from people who have had to battle against the odds to make it to the UK, and have had to do so because there are so few safe and legal routes to get here.” Mr Hale urged Home Office ministers to rethink the rule changes.