EXCLUSIVE: A campaign group, the Women of Piddington, wrote to female MPs with a plea for support over Home Office plans to dump 1,250 male migrants on their doorstep.
Suella Braverman and Sarah Pochin share concerns over Piddington
Mothers from a village facing having a camp of 1,250 male migrants dumped on their doorstep have declared they should not have to beg the Government for support – as zero female Labour MPs respond to a heartbreaking plea over safety fears for women and children. The tiny Oxfordshire village of Piddington, home to just 350 people, including 133 women and 46 children, is facing a David versus Goliath battle against the monstrous might of the Home Office which is seeking to plonk hordes of young male asylum seekers in a neighbouring former MoD site.
This little corner of England has become a symbol of the national struggle of ordinary Britons dealing with the consequences of government decisions over the illegal migrant crisis in the Channel. Facing the terrifying prospect of roving groups of young men wandering the lanes and fields, many villagers are seeking self-defence lessons, or upgrading CCTV and and looking at buying guard dogs.
The frightening security risk comes as the Reform-led Essex County Council launched ‘Operation Vanguard’ with six security ‘operatives’ to patrol several towns in what the council said was a “direct response to concerns raised amongst local residents, particularly women and girls, over gatherings of male migrants in town centres”. The measure comes after the Home Office said it was increasing the capacity of the asylum camp in the nearby former RAF airbase Wethersfield from 800 to 1,245.
In Piddington, a campaign group of female residents, calling themselves the Women of Piddington, wrote a letter to all the female MPs in Parliament in the past few days highlighting their own security fears – so far not a single female Labour MP has responded.
Only four women MPs have answered the call, with both Reform UK female MPs, Suella Braverman and Sarah Pochin meeting with villagers yesterday in a powerful show of solidarity. Gina Perkin, 37, who has three young children, welcomed the arrival of Ms Braverman and Ms Pochin when she met them with her youngest Zac, aged 10 months, but she did not hold back in her rage against those who have so far stayed silent.
“We should not have to beg the women who represent us to listen to us, stand alongside us and support us,” she said.
“And when this situation goes wrong, which it will, we will remember who listened, who acted and who chose to turn away when the woman they serve were asking for help. And we will hold them accountable.
“The system is broken. No one voted for this. We are fighting for our children and their future, and we need to do what we can. We should not be treated as collateral damage in this experiment of theirs.”
Reform UK’s Suella Braverman and Sarah Pochin became the first female MPs to meet villagers (Image: Tim Merry)
Baby Zac, aged 10 months, in Piddington on Monday (Image: Tim Merry)
Fellow mother Alice West, who has three young daughters, said four female MPs acknowledging the campaign was a start, but she very much hoped “more women in Parliament, from across the political spectrum, will now listen to us and add their voices too.”
Piddington resident Cheryl Coggins, 76, said she feels “worried” about the number of men who would be housed at the centre, adding she would feel less concerned if the plan was to move families in. Ms Coggins said: “Purely because I’m older, there’s a lot of young girls in the village, and you hear all the time what’s going on, so I’m obviously very concerned about that, and I just don’t think it’s the right place for them. They must look elsewhere.”
If Labour plans go head for the asylum centre in the former MoD Bicester Site A storage facility, the men housed there will not be detained and will be able to leave by signing in and out. There are also plans to bus the migrants into nearby Bicester.
Former Home Secretary and now Reform MP, Suella Braverman told the Daily Express the current Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could personally cancel the plans for Piddington. “Having run the Home Office, I can say this very plainly, if the Home Secretary wanted to stop these plans today, she could.
“She could make the decision to cancel Piddington if she cared about the people who live here, there are 350 people, 46 of them are children, 133 are women, and on the edge of this small village she is saying it’s absolute fine for 1,200 migrant men to be accommodated.
“She has not properly considered the implications, the safety risks are high, the lack of resource is a real problem, so my message to the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister is if you really care about the women and children and the people of Piddington, stop these plans now.”
Suella Braverman MP speaks to residents (Image: Tim Merry)
Ms Braverman added that she was “heartbroken” for the women of Piddington, adding: “I’m devastated when they tell me they are taking self-defence classes, that they are thinking of trying to put up more CCTV, that grandmothers won’t have their grandchildren to come and stay with them because of fears over their safety, it’s heartbreaking.
“I think the Labour government is treating the people of Piddington with contempt, they are plainly ignoring these people are who terrified, who are having sleepless nights, who are fearful for their safety and who are not coming from a place of malice or mischief, they are coming from a place of a genuine desire to keep their village and their children safe, I think it’s incredibly disgraceful that the government is so far ignoring them.”
Ms Braverman said Reform would stop the “invasion” of Britain’s south coast by gangs smuggling migrants to our shores. On Monday September 7 there were angry scenes when Portsmouth become the site of a major migrant landing for the first time, with 143 asylum seekers arriving in the Hampshire port city. The boat took around 10 hours to cross the Channel, carrying the migrants from Cherbourg, in Normandy, around 170 miles south of Calais where there has been a crackdown on launches.
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said people in Piddington and Essex should not be in a situation where they have to ask for security because Labour plans are changing the “whole profile” of their communities overnight.
She said: “It’s entirely and utterly unsuitable as a location to dump 1,200 plus asylum seekers here in Piddington, there’s no facilities, there’s nothing for these young men to do. We hope to do everything we can to stop this going ahead.
“What a terrible situation that we find ourselves in as a country, if our indigenous population, if you like, is having to ask for security because the whole profile of its community is changing overnight because of this open border project by the Left.”
Chris Philp and Joy Morrisey speak to villagers (Image: PA)
Ms Pochin added what has happening was a “betrayal” of the British people by the Labour Government. “If I was a woman here, a mum living here with young children, quite frankly I would terrified at the prospect of this camp just feet away from us being up and running by the end of the year with 1,200 plus young sexually active bored men,” she said.
“This country cannot be a safe haven for the world, we have to put British citizens first, British families first, and British women and children, and their safety first.”
Conservative MP Joy Morrisey was in Piddington yesterday alongside the shadow home secretary Chris Philp. Tory MP Sarah Bool for South Northamptonshire became the fourth female MP to support the Women of Piddington plea.
Joy Morrissey, the shadow minister for women and equalities, said: “Speaking to the Women of Piddington today, what struck me was how frightened they are. Nobody asked these women whether their village could safely absorb well over a thousand unaccompanied men, and nobody has answered them since.
“This Labour Government is prepared to impose a real risk on women and girls in Piddington without a second thought. Women deserve to be heard, whether they live in a city or a village of 350 people.”
A security guard watches through the fence (Image: PA)
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp posed alongside residents in the Jubilee Reserve playing field just outside the hamlet which backs onto the MoD base. He said: “These are decent, hardworking families who have been told to accept a decision made in Whitehall, with no consultation and no say, and then made to feel like extremists for objecting to it.
“Labour pretend this is about fairness, but there is nothing fair about dumping over a thousand single men on a village of 350 people.”
Asked by the Daily Express about possible security arrangements which could be put in place if the migrant camp goes ahead next-door to Piddington, the Liberal Democrat-led Oxfordshire County Council said: “We recognise that residents in Piddington and surrounding communities have questions about the proposal and its potential impact.
“The council is working closely with partners, including the Home Office, Thames Valley Police, Cherwell District Council and local health partners, to understand the implications of the proposal and ensure community safety and cohesion remain priorities.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to speculate on measures that may or may not be required in the future. However, we’ll continue to work with partners to ensure any risks, issues or concerns identified through the planning process are properly considered and addressed.”
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “The site remains a proposal at this stage.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners, including the Home Office, to understand what is planned and any potential impacts.”