A member of the Resident’s Council in Crowborough has told GB News that the Government has “let down” locals, as they prepare to move hundreds of migrants into the community.
Speaking to National Reporter Jack Carson, Ben Grant declared that Labour does “not have the community’s interests at heart”.
Mr Grant was joined by hundreds of Crowborough residents who took to the streets today to protest the decision by the Government.
Walking with Jack through the community’s streets, concerned Britons walked with Union Flags and placards which read “protect our own” and “lives of those who live in Crowborough matter”.
Ben Grant has hit out at the Government for ‘letting down’ residents of Crowborough
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GB NEWS
Asked by Jack why the residents are protesting the decision, Mr Grant told GB News: “We just feel like we’ve been let down by the Government basically.
“We’re a small town, 20,000 people. We’re going to be surged with at least 600 undocumented men who are going to have nothing to do.
“We went to the council meeting, and it was very clear that the Government didn’t have our interests at heart.”
Revealing that many elderly residents have contacted him in fear of the migrants being moved into their area, he added: “I was approached personally by many of our vulnerable, elderly women, and they were asking me, what are we going to do? We don’t have a police station in town.
“The nearest police are probably 15 minutes away, so a number of us have volunteered our time to set up a residents response group, to try and help the residents and basically be there where the police aren’t, and that’s the feeling we’re getting.”
Making clear the “despondent” feeling among locals, Mr Grant stated: “We’re just being let down by the Government. We’re being let down by emergency services, and we’re having to pay more in tax.
“In a few weeks, Rachel Reeves is going to tell us, ‘by the way, we need some more money off you’. And we just feel absolutely despondent at this point.”
Questioning why the camp holding the migrants is “open gate policy”, he fumed: “Why does it have to be an open gate policy? The benefit of using a military camp is that it can be secured.
“These are undocumented people who have arrived here illegally, we don’t know anything about them. Why would we let them have free reign of the town?”
Mr Grant told GB News that the Government ‘did not consult’ Crowborough residents about the decision
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GB NEWS
He added: “We all know what 600 blokes sat around doing nothing all day is like, why would we not close the gate? Why is that not the first priority? That at least solves the problem of security.”
Noting that there wasn’t “any consultation” between the Government and locals, Mr Grant explained: “When this news broke, there hadn’t been any kind of consultation.
“We found out that not only were we not consulted, but there were members of the council and the Government that actively hid this from the town and tried to surprise us on it late so we wouldn’t have time to react.
“That’s just not good faith. We’re happy to work with the Government, but unfortunately they’re treating us like they own us and that’s just not on.”
In a statement, a spokesman for the Home Office said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels. This Government will close every asylum hotel.
“Work is well underway, with more suitable sides being brought forward to ease pressure on communities.
“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across Government so that we can accelerate delivery.”