A campaigner has spoken out against 'cruel' and 'hostile' plans to reopen a former immigration centre in Oxfordshire ahead of a protest next weekend. 

A demonstration will be held on Saturday, November 30 outside Campsfield House in Kidlington. 

Campaign group Coalition to Keep Campsfield Closed will be holding the protest outside the entrance to the former immigration centre. 

MPs and councillors have been calling for home secretary Yvette Cooper to reverse her decision to reopen Campsfield House. 

Both Oxford City Council and Cherwell District Council recently passed motions urging a rethink. 

READ MORE: Dalton Barracks is to become 'garden village' near Abingdon

Riot police at Campsfield House in 2007 (Image: Contributed) The house is in Cherwell District Council's boundary, and has been mired in controversy. 

Speaking ahead of the demonstration, campaign group spokesman Bill MacKeith said: “As chair of parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee, Yvette Cooper signed off on reports that criticised the Home Office’s ‘utter failure’ and ‘shockingly cavalier’ approach to detention. 

“It is a different story in government, where it is hard to find a minister prepared to stand up to the Home Office in-built cruelty and hostility to people who come to this country. Instead she is calling for more detention and more deportations.”

Oxford City Council recently wrote to the Home Secretary, calling for the decision to be reversed and agreed to join the many other organisations supporting the Coalition to Keep Campsfield Closed and to encourage members to join the demonstration.

Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester Calum Miller recently asked the Home Office if it could be cancelled. 

In 2018, the Conservative government announced its decision to permanently close Campsfield House as part of its new policy to reduce the UK’s detention estate by half.

This decision followed two major reviews into migrant detention conducted by Sir Stephen Shaw, in 2016 and 2018, which recommended that government resources would be better directed to speeding up the Home Office’s rate of asylum application processing.

The recommendations were fully accepted by the government and Campsfield House was closed in early 2019.

It followed years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

In June 2022, the Conservative government reversed its detention closure policy.

During the general election campaign, the Labour Party promised a complete departure from the Conservative approach, and cancelled the Rwanda scheme.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper faced criticism after she announced plans to reopen Campsfield House in Kidlington earlier this year. 

A letter from the Home Office to Oxford City Council said that the government is increasing the number of detention centres “to support the higher pace of removals" and that the authority aims to "deter and tackle immigration abuse and protect the public and vulnerable individuals within the system”.

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About the author  

Toby is a senior reporter who has a particular interest in covering planning and local government. 

He joined in September 2024 having been a reporter at the Hampshire Chronicle for three years. 

Toby studied at the University of Brighton and can be found on X through the handle @JournoToby