Bicester MP explains why he did not back Conservative motion on asylum site
Calum Miller says linking the plans to human rights law stopped his party supporting it
The MP whose constituency includes a proposed asylum site at MOD Bicester says he still wants the plans stopped, despite not backing a Conservative motion against them.
Liberal Democrat Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, says he could not support it because it was tied to a call for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
The motion asked the government to withdraw from the convention so illegal migrants could be deported, and would also have condemned the plans for the site.
MPs rejected it by 309 votes to 113 on Wednesday.
It's reported that the motion was not legally binding.
The government's proposals would house up to 1,256 single adult male asylum seekers at the disused Ministry of Defence site near Piddington.
Villagers in Piddington voted last month to leave the UK in a symbolic referendum held in response to the plans.
Why he did not back the motion
Mr Miller argues that tying the site to the convention left his party and others unable to support the motion.
He said: "This week the Conservatives, by linking the European Convention on Human Rights to MOD Bicester, made it impossible to have my party and others support this really important motion."
He said: "I turned up and spoke in the debate in order to register my opposition and to press the government further to cancel this plan, but I was unable to support the Conservatives' motion because I regret they played party politics with it."
During the debate, he told MPs the site was wrong for local communities, for asylum seekers and for taxpayers.
He also said he had heard concerns from people in Piddington about the safety of women and girls.
Defending the convention
Mr Miller says the convention protects the rights of British people, as well as others across Europe.
He pointed to cases where he says it has helped families in the UK get justice.
He said: "It's the convention that helped the Hillsborough families finally get justice."
The Conservative case
Shadow women and equalities minister Joy Morrissey told MPs that backing the motion would mean standing up for local communities.
Aphra Brandreth, the Conservative MP for Chester South and Eddisbury, who supported the motion, said human rights in the UK long predate the convention.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch visited Piddington last month, where she met more than 40 women at the village hall.
The government's position
Home Office minister Anna Turley told MPs leaving the convention would risk undermining cooperation with European partners on reducing the number of people seeking asylum in the UK.
She said: "The idea that leaving the convention is the way forward is not borne out by reality."
She also argued the way asylum seekers have been housed, including in hotels, has not been fair on communities.
She told MPs no final decision has been made on the site.
Policing concerns
Thames Valley's Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, has written to the Home Secretary urging the government to reconsider the plans.
He says he expects crime to rise if the site opens, and that Thames Valley Police will need to increase their presence in the area.
It's reported that the Home Office has said similar sites have operated without a significant increase in crime linked to asylum accommodation.
Mr Barber wrote: 'Without significant additional funding, this will come at an unacceptable cost to local taxpayers and a reduction in policing services elsewhere.'
He wrote: 'However, if the Government is minded to continue with this proposal you must provide full cost recovery to Thames Valley Police.'
What happens next
According to a government factsheet, no final decision will be made until the required assessments, planning permissions and approvals are complete.
Mr Miller says he will keep working with people from all parties on a joint local campaign, which he believes can stop the plans.