The Government is planning to move illegal migrants from asylum hotels to army barracks on disused military bases as fury over illegal migration reaches fever pitch.
Two former military sites - MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex, and Napier Barracks, a former military base in Kent - are already used to house a small number of asylum seekers.
Newly appointed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce the new policy imminently, which could come into effect within weeks.
Where could these asylum seekers be heading?
GB News has looked at the largest former military sites which Keir Starmer and his administration could be about to repurpose.
The 18 largest Government sites for sale are land and buildings owned by the Ministry of Defence.
Other large sites include former army barracks, such as St George’s Barracks (289 hectares) in Rutland, East Midlands, and Alanbrooke Barracks (201 hectares) in North Yorkshire.
RAF airfields: Scampton (330 hectares) in Lincolnshire, Linton (273 hectares) in North Yorkshire, Wyton (256 hectares) in Cambridgeshire, and Cowden (246 hectares) in East Yorkshire are also up for sale.
Read the full breakdown below...
Potton Island and Rushley Island (Essex)
Potton Island and Rushley Island are in Essex near Foulness Island, and are owned by the Ministry of Defence
|Potton Island and Rushley Island, in Essex near Foulness Island, are owned by the Ministry of Defence with a combined area of about 550 acres.
Both islands were used for military purposes in the past, mainly for training and as part of coastal defence, but are now for sale.
Neither island has a permanent civilian population today.
The islands remain largely pasture and undeveloped land, reflecting their historical and military heritage and would likely spark local outrage if used to house asylum seekers.
Salisbury Plain Training Area (Wiltshire)
While still in use, significant parts were once active installations no longer used
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While still in use, significant parts were once active installations no longer used.
The entire training area spans approximately 150 square miles, making it the UK’s largest single military estate.
The Ministry of Defence owns the site, but due to its large-scale military exercises, armoured vehicle training and recreational activities accessed by the public, it is an unlikely spot for asylum seekers to be housed.
Chatham Dockyard (Kent)
The location is infamous for building ships like Nelson's HMS Victory and refitting submarines
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Once a major naval dockyard covering around 400 acres, it was closed in 1984, ending a 400-year-old history.
The location is infamous for building ships like Nelson's HMS Victory and refitting submarines.
Today, the Chatham Historic Dockyard is a maritime museum and tourist attraction preserving a core part of the site as well as a residential area, meaning that its location would unlikely be used in the new plans.
RAF Scampton (Lincolnshire)
Previous plans for the UK Government to house asylum seekers at the Lincolnshire site have been scrapped by the Labour Government
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The former Royal Air Force station is situated adjacent to the A15 road, near the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and approximately six miles north-west of Lincoln.
The station was first closed and returned to agriculture following the First World War, and reactivated in the 1930s, where it provided an airfield for fighters until 1996.
After being reopened to provide a home for the RAF Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, and to private companies, temporarily, such as Hawker Hunter Aviation, for the maintenance and storage of aircraft, in July 2018, the Ministry of Defence announced that Scampton would close and be sold.
The station closed on 31 March 2023.
Previous plans for the UK Government to house asylum seekers at the Lincolnshire site have been scrapped by the Labour Government, and the site is was put up for sale, after an expenditure of at least £48million.
The previous Conservative government had planned to use the historic Dambusters base for accommodation, but the current Government reversed the decision in September 2024 due to cost concerns and community opposition.
RAF Linton-on-Ouse (North Yorkshire)
The former RAF base is now awaiting sale by the Ministry of Defence
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RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force station spanning 273 hectares in North Yorkshire, England, which closed in 2020.
The site has plans to be converted into an asylum seeker reception centre, but the scheme was controversial and later scrapped, with the previous Government having spent nearly £3million on sunk costs for the project.
The former RAF base is now awaiting sale by the Ministry of Defence.
RAF Wyton (Cambridgeshire)
Its airfield was decommissioned in 1995,
|This 256-hectare Royal Air Force station, located near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, was decommissioned and is now under the command of UK Strategic Command.
Its airfield was decommissioned in 1995, and all military flying was later ceased in 2013 due to high maintenance costs, but the site remains an active military site.
RAF Cowden (East Yorkshire)
RAF Cowden is on the Yorkshire coast
|The former military site, a 246-hectare region about two miles south of Mappleton beach on the East Yorkshire coast, was used as a bombing range before it was decommissioned in 1998.
The facility was used as a combined artillery and field firing range from the 1940s until 1955, when it was transferred to the RAF.
In 2021, a four-year contract was awarded to Brimstone Site Investigation Ltd by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to carry out long-term bomb removal at Mappleton Beach—part of the decommissioned RAF Cowden bombing range.
The four-year contract, starting February 2021, involves regular monitoring, removal, and public safety measures such as warning signs and red flag zones.
St George’s Barracks (Rutland)
The barracks spans 289 hectares
|The barracks, which span 289 hectares, were established on the site of the former RAF North Luffenham airfield in 1998.
In November 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that the site would close between 2020 and 2021.
This was later extended to 2022, and then again to 2026.
Alanbrooke Barracks (Topcliffe, North Yorkshire)
The site covers 201 hectares and is still for sale
|The barracks were established on the site of a former airbase in 1974 as an ordnance field park.
It is currently set to close in 2032 under the Better Defence Estate plan, a plan set out in 2016 by the previous Government as the UK Ministry of Defence’s long-term strategy to modernise and shrink the Defence estate.
The site covers 201 hectares and is still for sale.
Fort George (Highlands, Scotland)
The UK Government announced it will close as an active barracks by 2032
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Fort George, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, is an 18th-century garrison fortress built after the Jacobite rising of 1745 and covers 17 hectares.
It has served as an Army base for over 250 years and is also a popular visitor attraction managed by Historic Environment Scotland.
The UK Government announced it will close as an active barracks by 2032, though it will remain open to the public as a historic site, making it unsuitable for a potential location for asylum seekers.
Craigiehall Barracks (Edinburgh)
Craigiehall Barracks, located just west of Edinburgh, being used for a training drill in 2021
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Craigiehall Barracks, located just west of Edinburgh, was originally an 18th-century estate house that was later adapted into a military headquarters.
It served as the Scottish HQ for the British Army, housing command staff and support units until it was earmarked for closure.
The site, covering around 39 hectares, was announced for disposal under the Better Defence Estate plan, and the Army fully vacated it in 2015.
Royal Citadel (Plymouth)
The site, covering about six hectares on the seafront, is scheduled to close as an active barracks by 2035
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The Royal Citadel in Plymouth is a 17th-century fortress built to defend the coastline and naval dockyard against sea attack and has been used by the army ever since.
The site, covering about six hectares on the seafront, is scheduled to close as an active barracks by 2035, though its historic structures will remain protected.
It is an unlikely location for the Government to use.
Stonehouse Barracks (Plymouth)
The site's closure is now delayed until 2029
|Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth is the Royal Marines HQ, first established in the late 18th century.
The complex, covering around 14 acres (6 hectares), which has continuously housed Royal Marine units, is planned for disposal under the Better Defence Estate plan.
Its closure is now delayed until 2029.
HMS Sultan (Gosport)
In 2019, it was announced that HMS Sultan would not close until 2029
|The Royal Navy training establishment, specialising in marine and air engineering, has historically supported both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.
The base, covering about 72 hectares, was earmarked for closure by 2026 under the Better Defence Estate plan.
In 2019, it was announced that the site would not close until 2029.
Chivenor Airfield and Barracks (Devon)
Following a campaign to keep the base open, the Ministry of Defence announced in February 2019 that the base would remain open
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The site is situated on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, adjacent to the South West Coast Path, on the north coast of Devon, with the nearest towns being Barnstaple and Braunton.
Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was operational between May 1940 and 1995, when it was transferred to the Royal Marines.
A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicated that the Ministry of Defence would dispose of RMB Chivenor by 2027.
However, following a campaign to keep the base open, the Ministry of Defence announced in February 2019 that the base would remain open.
The latest move comes after the Home Office successfully overturned a High Court injunction granted to Epping Forest District Council to stop the Bell Hotel from being used to house illegal migrants last week.
The council had an application to appeal its case to the Supreme Court rejected with "no reasons given".
Home Office lawyers argued the rights of asylum seekers were more important than those of Epping council at the Court of Appeal.
The decision sparked outrage, with GB News regular and Epping resident Adam Brooks writing that Labour will never be elected again.
Angela Rayner's sudden resignation a week later sparked an overhaul of the Home Office, with the border security minister getting axed and two junior ministers swapped out following Ms Mahmood's appointment.
On the new Home Secretary's first day in office, 1,096 small boat migrants arrived on British shores.