The council lost a legal challenge against using the former Wethersfield air base as an asylum processing centre for up to three years. Council leader Graham Butland told a cabinet meeting the authority would receive an up-front payment of £1,487,500. The council will receive additional payments of £3,500 per bed space filled as the Wethersfield site reaches "key thresholds of capacity”. Mr Butland said: “I’d caution anyone talking about an increase in crime at the same time as the asylum centre as if there is a causal link. “There is no evidence that there is any link between an increase in crime and the Wethersfield centre.

Source: The Times December 26, 2023 12:05 UTC