Suffolk police commissioner vows to fight Labour's plan to turn RAF Barnham into an asylum seeker centre

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026.

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore says he was "astonished" when the Home Office announced plans to convert RAF Barnham near Thetford — currently leased by police for specialist training — into accommodation for up to 1,250 asylum seekers. Passmore has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, but the only response he received came from the immigration minister and amounted to little more than vague assurances. Legal advice tells him the force cannot be removed for at least six months without proper notice.

Passmore called the idea of a large asylum centre "utterly ridiculous" in the middle of the countryside, and says taxpayers' money has already been invested in the site.

Trump allies have told a broadcaster the President could publicly mock the plan, noting RAF Barnham sits near the birthplace of American Founding Father Thomas Paine.