ANY sexual assault of migrants in the small village of Piddington will be blamed on the Prime Minister, its furious council leader said last night.
The chilling warning came as the Government used its emergency powers to green-light the housing of 1,250 foreign men in the sleepy Oxfordshire hamlet which has a population of just 350.
The project was given the go-ahead despite ministers admitting they could not “eliminate all risks” to villagers, who claimed they were “easy targets”.
The leader of the local parish council, Tim McNally, blasted: “I’m sorry, Andy Burnham, you are responsible for this. If sexual abuse happens it will be on your head.”
Mr McNally, who led the campaign against the conversion of RAF Bicester near his village into migrant accommodation, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the decision announced last night by local government leader Angela Rayner.
He warned that “this is all a major mistake. It’s a crazy miscalculation.”
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And he accused the Prime Minister of being quick to denounce sexual assault in showbiz following the Russell Brand trial, while abandoning ordinary Britons.
He told the Sun’s Harry Cole Saves the West: “Andy Burnham, the great Prime Minister of United Kingdomhas spoken out essentially accusing the media industry of sexual assault against women, when in reality he is agreeing to open a site that will cause us a whole host of problems.”
Ministers admitted last night that camp residents will be free to move around the area.
But they claimed small country roads would hamper their travel, writing: “Users of the service would be free to enter and exit, but the site’s relatively isolated location and limited pedestrian connections are likely to limit travel on foot.” »
But the local Conservative MP Greg Smithfrom the neighboring constituency of Mid-Buckinghamshire, said it was absurd.
“There are 11 villages in my constituency that you can walk to,” he told The Sun.
And he added that authorities were already considering issuing migrant residents with high-visibility jackets “because the site overlooks a road traveling at 80 km/h… it’s just nonsense”.
The furious Tory added: “I’m really afraid for the safety of my constituents, especially my female constituents.
“We are talking about a cohort of people who even this government’s Home Office has deemed should hand out a leaflet to inform them that rape is not acceptable in the UK, and they are going to keep within walking distance of my constituents.”
He added: “This is not a risk worth taking. It is an absolute abdication of the government’s responsibility to keep its citizens safe by saying it cannot eliminate the risk.”
And he urged Andy Burnham to “follow the plans my party is currently putting forward, whereby we must deport those who enter the UK illegally, not harbor them in the middle of the campaign where they pose a real and present danger to my constituents”.
Mr McNally also accused the Labor government of completely abandoning his village, although he promised to discuss their fate.
“We have engaged with politicians at every possible level, Parliament. Not once have they engaged with us directly. They promised to come. They never came,” he said.
“The only people who came were opposition members… but not a single Labor MP came to visit Piddington, and that’s really very disappointing.” »
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MOD Bicester. However, a final decision to proceed has not yet been made.
“The Government is working towards a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1 billion in savings since the election. »
In September, the English village five-year-old voted for independence from the United Kingdom in a symbolic local referendum.
A total of 285 villagers voted for “independence”, with only 26 votes against and one spoiled ballot, for a turnout of almost 92 percent.
Parish council vice-chair Susannah Parden, who announced the result, said: “We are Piddington – the village that roars. »
The referendum was called in protest against the government’s proposal, reflecting local concerns about the impact of a large influx of new residents.
Village officials had previously estimated that male asylum migrants would outnumber women 10 to one in Piddington.
Fearful women in the region have resorted to lessons in self-defense amid the influx of asylum seekers.
After the independence vote, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he understood the “strength of emotion” shown by residents.
Local mothers told The Sun they would be too scared to take their children to the park if the plans were approved – a fear which has now become a reality.
Gn world
