ASYLUM seekers should be housed in town centres, senior Labour councillors say in leaked emails.
Migrants must be near shops, schools, GP surgeries and transport to “integrate” faster and “combat racist rhetoric”, they argue.
The messages, seen by The Sun, come amid a national row over where asylum seekers should live.
They were exchanged in the wake of 1,000 people marching through a town in Havant, Hants to oppose plans to house asylum seekers above shops.
In one July 31 email, Cllr Gillian Harris, the Council’s Cabinet Lead for Regeneration and Communities, wrote: “People such as asylum seekers need to be placed near to shops and amenities and communities rather than isolated on ships such as the Bibby Stockholm or in the countryside.”
She also told fellow cabinet members the council should “willingly participate” in the Government’s Asylum Dispersal Programme in order to “counter the racist rhetoric being peddled”.
On August 11, Cllr Jason Horton also told colleagues: “Asylum seekers will be placed in Havant Borough at some point. This is simply going to happen.”
He added: “We should be in discussion with the Home Office about suitable locations now. “We should be considering the location of schools, shops, GP surgeries, public transport, public libraries, and other factors where asylum seekers can get help to meet local residents and integrate, no matter their country of origin.”
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman urged both councillors to resign, saying: “To want to house these people in the heart of our town against the wishes of local people is one of the most out of touch things I have ever heard. These cllrs should put their money where their mouth is and take in these asylum seekers.
“These people have broken into our country, they need to be securely detained before being deported. Both councillors should resign and face the public for their duplicity.”
Ms Braverman, who is the local MP, was one of the leading voices against the scheme in Waterlooville.
Her petition against the proposal attracted more than 10,000 signatures, and she wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper demanding it be scrapped.
After a short consultation and questions over fire safety compliance, the Home Office announced on August 9 it would not purchase the property, declaring it “unsuitable” for asylum housing.
A spokesperson for Havant Borough Council said: “Havant Borough Council does not have a policy or position on locations for asylum accommodation.
“Asylum seekers are housed by Central Government, and this is co-ordinated by Clearsprings on behalf of the Home Office.
“Local authorities are usually asked to respond to a consultation co-ordinated by Clearsprings on behalf of the Home Office, about any proposed location.”
Anger is also mounting over “Operation Scatter” – a Home Office scheme to shut 210 migrant hotels and move asylum seekers into other housing.
Local leaders say it is forcing entire streets and houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) to be set aside for migrants, locking out local families and fuelling resentment.
In Portsmouth, Clearsprings Ready Homes used 58 HMOs for asylum dispersal in August 2024 – up from just 10 in 2019 – but the council told The Sun it has no current figures.
The Home Office is under no legal duty to inform town halls when HMOs are bought or converted, leaving them unable to plan services.
But Cllr George Madgwick, leader of Reform UK Portsmouth, said: “This is happening behind closed doors with zero accountability. It’s time the council and government came clean and were honest with our city and the British people.”
