INSIDE CROWBOROUGH: Pictures of illegal migrant digs at military barracks as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vows to 'open site after site' to end hotel use

THE first illegal migrants have moved into the former military site Crowborough training camp in East Sussex, as part of the government’s mission to try to end the use of expensive hotels.  

The site accommodates single adult male illegal migrants who are claiming asylum in the UK in basic, safe accommodation while their claims are being assessed.

The first 27 migrants have been moved into the site which will be scaled up to more than 500. 

They will only be housed there for up to three months while their asylum claim is processed before being removed from the country if their claim is rejected.

A Home Officer spokesperson said: "Moving to large sites like Crowborough is an important part of the government’s reforms to tackle illegal migration and the pull factors that make the UK an attractive destination while reducing the pressure on communities caused by hotels.

"More than 400 hotels were opened under the last government at a cost of £9 million a day. Now just under 200 remain in use, with overall asylum costs down 15%, saving over half a billion in hotel spending last year as we deliver our commitment to close every hotel.

"Robust safety and public‑protection safeguards are in place at Crowborough. Specialist security are on site 24/7 with CCTV and strict sign-in procedures for residents. All asylum seekers will have been screened against policing, criminality and immigration databases and will have completed initial health checks before arriving."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (below) said: "Illegal migration has been placing immense pressure on communities.

“That is why we are removing the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain, closing asylum hotels that are blighting communities. 

"Crowborough is just the start. I will bring forward site after site until every asylum hotel is closed and returned to local communities. 

"I will not rest until order and control to our borders is restored.” 

The opening of Crowborough is part of a wider programme of reform to close every asylum hotel and fix the broken asylum system this government inherited. This government has tripled the rate of asylum decision-making, reduced the initial decision backlog by nearly a quarter, and removed almost 50,000 people with no right to be here since coming to power. Clearing the backlog and speeding up decisions is essential to reducing demand for accommodation and ending hotel use for good.

Reducing pull factors to the UK, such as tackling illegal working, is also another key strand of work to reduce demand on the asylum system. Just last week it was announced that illegal working arrests and raids have reached the highest level in British history thanks to relentless activity by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement teams. Latest figures reveal the number of raids have soared by 77% in the UK since the government came into power, leading to an 83% rise in arrests (July 2024 to end of December 2025).  

This work forms part of the government's laser focus to secure Britain's borders, restore order to the asylum system by stopping the use of hotels and end the false promise of work used to sell spaces on dangerous small boats.