Britain’s biggest construction companies have been offered lucrative government contracts to build detention accommodation for migrants.
As daily Channel crossings reached a record for this year, with 616 migrants crossing on Sunday, No 10’s delivery unit hosted a summit with some of Britain’s largest construction firms and representatives of local councils to discuss plans to build cheap and quick accommodation for migrants.
The meeting is understood to have included discussions of No 10’s desire to build large accommodation buildings as an alternative to hotels in the short term and also as detention facilities as and when required under the Illegal Migration Bill, which is before parliament.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has set a target of increasing detention places from 2,500 to at least 4,500 by March 2024.
