A council has come under fire after they said they were "utterly committed" to asylum seeker accommodation, despite protests from residents.

The Home Office had proposed to house 35 people in flats above shops in Waterlooville, Havant in Hampshire.

However, protests broke out last week against the plans to provide accommodation for couples and parents seeking asylum.

Now, Havant Borough Council (HBC) has submitted an official response to accommodation in Waterlooville town centre as proposed by the Home Office.

The council said the site is currently not compliant with fire regulations and therefore currently not suitable for housing.

In addition, a spokesman for the council said they would like to engage in further discussion over the level of support that would be provided to keep people safe and to aid community cohesion.

However, the plans were criticised by local MP and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who said the plans showed the council was "out of touch".

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Leader of Havant Borough Council, Phil Munday said: "As a council we are utterly committed to doing our part to support the successful integration of asylum seekers into the borough.

"We recognise the need to support the government programme and will play our part wherever possible."

The Labour councillor for Havant St. Faith's added: "Although we expressed concerns with the proposed Waterlooville site last week, the support provided alongside is key to any successful integration in the future.

"As such, I will ask the Home Office to ensure that any further proposals outline what they intend to provide from the outset."

HAVANT BOROUGH COUNCIL

However, responding to the council's announcement, MP for Fareham and Waterlooville and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "By being so out of touch through their arrogance, HBC have let down the people of Waterlooville.

"It is clear that they are on the side of the asylum seekers and the Home Office.

"Why can’t we put local British people first?"

GB News has approached HBC for comment.

GB NEWS |

The Fareham and Waterlooville MP appeared on GB News

It comes as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed the failure to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats is putting community cohesion at risk.

She said: "If you were to speak to the mothers who were protesting outside the hotel in Epping, they will tell you that a crime had been committed and that’s what they’re protesting."

Badenoch added: "We need to make sure that we address those concerns and what we’re not seeing from the Government is any kind of addressing of those concerns.

"We need to stop the boats. It is not affordable, it is not good for community cohesion, it is not good for crime, it is costing us a lot of money. We need to get a grip on this issue as quickly as possible."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the deal struck with France to return Channel migrants will not stop the crossings on their own and refused to confirm how many migrants would be returned under the scheme.

Cooper said the deal was about the principle rather than the number itself. She pointed to a similar agreement between Greece and Turkey in 2016 which she said brought down numbers of migrants to Greece.

It is hoped the first migrants will be returned by the end of August.

In exchange Britain will receive asylum seekers who have ties to the country through a legal route.

Speaking to the BBC, Cooper said: "We never claimed that there is a single silver bullet on this. So this goes alongside the 28 per cent increase in returns of failed asylum seekers that we have brought in."