Fire at empty Leverington site earmarked by the Home Office for asylum seekers is treated as arson by police

A Wednesday evening fire caused serious damage to Roman Court, a derelict sheltered housing site in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, with no casualties reported. The Home Office had told Fenland District Council the property could 'provide 26 bed spaces for mothers and babies'. The council submitted a full objection on October 7. The week before, over 200 people marched through the village, which has a population of around 3,000, to protest against the plans.

Fenland District Council accused the Home Office of having 'ridden roughshod' over proper consultation.

Protesters said villagers were being treated as an 'inconvenience' by the government.