The government faces a legal challenge from the Oxfordshire village of Piddington over plans to convert a former Ministry of Defence site at Bicester into accommodation for more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers. Planning permission for the development was approved by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner after the Home Office used a fast-track route for projects deemed urgently needed and of national importance. Opponents have six weeks to challenge the decision in the courts.

Piddington parish council chairman Tim McNally said ministers should "absolutely" be ready for a legal challenge, and said the village could also apply the new Hillsborough Law, which would create a legally enforceable duty of candour requiring public officials and authorities to act transparently during investigations and inquiries. He said villagers would take "many actions" and would disclose them as they moved forward. Piddington symbolically voted to leave the UK in September over the planned use of the site, and last month the group Wrong Plan Wrong Site appealed for a judicial review of the proposals.S1S2

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the plans as a "betrayal of the women of Piddington", while Liberal Democrats education spokesperson Munira Wilson argued asylum seekers should stay where they are for now. Defence minister Luke Pollard said the Home Office would continue to engage with the community, noting that the project was not yet fully locked in.S1S2

A Home Office spokesperson said planning permission allowed the government to continue progressing the use of MoD Bicester, but that a final decision to proceed had yet to be taken. The government said it was working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1bn saved in costs since the election, including closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation such as former military sites. These sites are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV.S1