The UK Government’s proposal to house people seeking asylum in disused military barracks in Inverness is yet another short-term measure from a system that urgently needs long-term, humane reform.
The Home Affairs Select Committee has already criticised the Home Office’s approach to asylum accommodation, highlighting its lack of planning, compassion, and accountability. This latest move demonstrates that those lessons have not been learned. Instead of investing in a fair and effective system that treats people with dignity, the Government continues to pursue stop-gap solutions that risk further harm.
Housing people seeking sanctuary in remote or institutional settings, without meaningful engagement with local communities, risks fostering division and misunderstanding. Successful integration depends on engagement and connection — not isolation behind barbed wire or in disused facilities.
People seeking sanctuary are not a problem to be solved. They are individuals fleeing conflict, persecution and hardship, and they deserve to be treated with respect and humanity. It is not those seeking safety who are at fault — it is the asylum system itself that is broken and in desperate need of reform.
If the UK is to live up to its proud tradition of offering refuge to those in need, the Government must abandon short-term fixes and develop a long-term, compassionate strategy that works for everyone.
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