The Government’s plans to house 1,200 male asylum seekers in a North Yorkshire village currently home to around half that number of people are understandably highly controversial.

In the circumstances and given the undoubtedly huge impact it will have on the local community in Linton-on-Ouse given the former RAF base due to be used is right in the centre of the village, it is reasonable to expect that ministers involved in the decision will be fully across every detail.

So it is little surprise there has been anger at comments by Asylum and Immigration Minister Anna Turley claiming the ex-RAF base is “away from the community” when its physical location is actually in the very heart of Linton-on-Ouse.

While Ms Turley was attempting to argue that the site is “self-contained” and claimed that individuals on similar existing sites rarely leave such camps of their own volition, she also admits that individuals will be able to sign in and out of the premises as they wish.

A general view of the area surrounding RAF Linton-On-Ouse in North Yorkshire. The Home Office is planning to use more former military barracks to house thousands of asylum seekers in its quest to shut more hotels. Planning permission is being sought at Ministry of Defence sites in Bicester in Oxfordshire, Barnham in Suffolk, and Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, to accommodate 3,750 asylum seekers. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

placeholder image — A general view of the area surrounding RAF Linton-On-Ouse in North Yorkshire. The Home Office is planning to use more former military barracks to house thousands of asylum seekers in its quest to shut more hotels. Planning permission is being sought at Ministry of Defence sites in Bicester in Oxfordshire, Barnham in Suffolk, and Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, to accommodate 3,750 asylum seekers. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

It is not scaremongering to say so; that is the official Government policy.

The Government’s position more generally is that it is “fairer” to house asylum seekers in former military sites than hotels and better to spread them out across the country in a supposed bid, as Ms Turley explained in Parliament, “to reduce impact on local communities”.

Many, especially people living in Linton-on-Ouse, would consider that to be a dubious argument at best.

But if you are going to make that case as a Government Minister, you need to be certain of your facts and clear about the impact of what you are proposing. Arguing that this base is “away from the community” when that is clearly not the case is the opposite of that.