Teenage cadets ordered to leave East Sussex training camp to accommodate 600 small-boat migrants

Cadets at the town's No8 Detachment paraded for the final time on Wednesday evening after being ordered to "cease all activity" by the Ministry of Defence due to safety concerns.

"The Government takes the safety and well-being of all cadets extremely seriously," they added.

But it has led to the serious question from locals of why the camp is deemed unsafe for cadets but safe for residents in the area, if the migrants are able to freely roam in and out of the site.

Leader of the Pink Ladies anti-migrant group in Crowborough, Jeannette Towey, condemned the decision: "It's a terrible shame and an appalling indictment of the Government that our cadets are being forced out of their longstanding base to make way for 600 undocumented, fighting-age men who we know absolutely nothing about.

"If the MoD thinks it's unsafe for cadets, how come the Home Office thinks it's safe for exactly the same children if they're in the town?

"The problem with rural areas like this is that there is absolutely nothing for these people to do other than hang around schools or playgrounds, which is horrifying. People here are very worried.

"People across the country should be concerned about this, because if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere."

During Crowborough's peaceful protests last month, rape alarms were handed out by police - although they insisted this was not connected to the incoming migrants.

This prompted Kim Bailey, chair of campaign group Crowborough Shield, to question: "If everything is ‘safe, legal and compliant’, why do women in a sleepy little town like Crowborough need rape alarms?"

Andrew Wilson, District Councillor for Crowborough South East Ward and former cadet, said the order was "terrible".

"Ministers and the Labour Government have apparently decided that 600 undocumented adult men deserve Crowborough Training Camp more than our own cadets," Cllr Wilson told GB News.

"These young people gain confidence, leadership and direction and purpose. Yet, they have been pushed aside without a second thought.

"The Government claims it wants to expand cadet opportunities across the nation as a feeder for our armed forces, but here it is tearing away one of the most important facilities in the country. It is a complete betrayal of the cadets and of this community.

"Patriotism and compassion start at home. I stand with our young people in uniform. I think the level of public feeling here demonstrates that Crowborough will not surrender that principle."

The decision to move migrants to the camp comes as Labour vows to end hotel accommodation for illegal migrants.

But despite this, Sussex Weald MP Nusrat Ghani actually discovered the scheme will cost the same as putting all the migrants up in hotels.

Some of the costs may have gone towards a £32,000-a-year "activity coordinator", a role that has already been advertised for the site, who will organise the art classes and well-being sessions free of charge to the migrants.

Other jobs include five site managers, each earning up to £60,000 a year, a security team leader on £44,000, and 15 security officers on £35,000.

Ms Ghani, who is a former president of Crowborough's cadets, said: "This is a unique and precious training camp in constant use that is being handed to asylum seekers at the cost of our cadets.

"If they couldn't make the site safe for the cadets, how can they make it safe for local people? It feels like the Home Office is just ignoring us."

Earlier last month, an estimated 3,000 residents took to the streets of Crowborough in opposition to the proposed 600 asylum seekers being moved in nearby.

Speaking to GB News at the time, they expressed their fury, with one saying: "I'm marching for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren. I don't want to have them in fear that they can't walk down the street in case they get attacked."

Another explained their concerns over "the safety of the village, women, children and elderly".

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