Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp repeatedly told Reform’s Zia Yusuf to ‘read the room’ after he raised the dire Tory record on immigration at a press conference in Piddington
Two Tory and Reform politicians got into a shouting match live on TV as they tried to capitalise on villagers’ anger over plans for an asylum accommodation site.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp repeatedly told Reform’s Zia Yusuf to “read the room” after his rival raised the Conservatives’ dire record on immigration at a press conference in Piddington, Oxfordshire, today.
It comes after Communities Secretary Angela Rayner granted planning permission for accommodation for 1,256 male asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence site in Bicester on Thursday night, in the face of staunch opposition from the nearby village.
Mr Yusuf said to Mr Philp: “Would you like to actually apologise for the things that you did in government to bring hundreds of thousands of people into this country illegally? Are you going to take the opportunity to apologise to the people of Piddington and to the country?”
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Mr Philp retorted: “That is disingenuous as usual Zia.” He said the Tories had a proper plan rather than “cheap slogans”, saying: “Rather than just trying to chase headlines, we’ve done the serious work.” He then told his Reform rival to stop “point scoring” and repeatedly told him to “read the room, listen to the people clapping”.
But Mr Yusuf said: “You were heavily involved in immigration and borders policy.” Mr Philp interrupted again to say “read the room, the public want you to pipe down on the cheap politics.”
He told Mr Yusuf: “You are in a hole, stop digging.” But Mr Yusuf said the Tories had failed to control the country’s borders and said he needed to apologise. But the Tory MP blamed Labour for the arrival men who would be housed at the site.
Piddington residents have warned the Government to brace for a legal challenge to the plans. Parish council chairman Tim McNally told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward. Today is a day of reflection, and we’ll work out where we plan to go from this point.” Asked if ministers should be braced for a legal challenge, he said: “Absolutely, absolutely.”
Labour has vowed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, after use spiralled under the Conservatives. But demand for asylum accommodation remains high, meaning the Government must find alternative sites such as former military barracks.
The Prime Minister has said refugees should be housed across the country, rather than just in the poorest communities, where asylum hotels have become a point of tension.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “The Secretary of State has granted full planning permission for the temporary, phased use of the former MoD Bicester storage site. As the decision may be subject to legal challenge, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MoD Bicester. However, a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken. The Government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1billion saved in costs since the election.
“This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites. These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community.” There is now a six-week window when the decision can be face a legal challenge.