The government has announced that “thousands” of asylum seekers will be housed in four military bases, including one in the prime minister’s own constituency.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick confirmed plans to accommodate migrants at former RAF sites in Essex and Lincolnshire, as well as announcing two new sites in East Sussex and Yorkshire.

The latter, Catterick Garrison Barracks, is in Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency.

The Home Office is also “continuing to explore” controversial plans to use vessels as a form of accommodation while asylum claims are being processed, Mr Jenrick said.

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He told the Commons: “The prime minister is showing leadership on this issue by bringing forward proposals to provide accommodation at Catterick Garrison Barracks in his constituency, and we’re continuing to explore the possibility of accommodating migrants in vessels as they are in Scotland and in the Netherlands.”

The announcement was met with cries of “it’s not the same” from Scottish MPs.

In Scotland, cruise ships have been used to house Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

The new housing plans are aimed at reducing the £6.8m a day the government says it spends on hotel accommodation while acting as a deterrent to prevent Channel crossings.

However, a refugee charity said the proposed accommodation is “entirely unsuitable” to house people who have fled war, while two Conservative-led councils in the areas are planning legal action.

And Labour said the proposals will not reduce spending “despite what Conservatives briefed the papers” – saying the new sites are in addition to hotels, not replacements.

Mr Jenrick claimed the use of hotels has resulted in a loss of tourism and cancelled weddings and “we must not elevate the well-being of illegal migrants above those of the British people”.

He said the new accommodation for migrants “should meet their essential living needs and nothing more”.

He said the military sites will be “scaled up over the coming months” to provide accommodation “to several thousand asylum seekers through repurposed barrack blocks and porta cabins”.

“This government remains committed to meeting our legal obligations for those who would otherwise be destitute but we are not prepared to go further,” he said.

Ahead of Mr Jenrick’s announcement, Braintree District Council said it is planning to “imminently” apply for a High Court injunction to challenge the proposed use of the Wethersfield airbase in Essex, amid concerns over the “isolated” location and impact on local services.

These concerns had also been voiced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, the Conservative MP for the area, though earlier deputy PM Dominic Raab insisted his cabinet colleague now “fully supports” the policy.

Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, said that the local council will immediately launch legal proceedings to fight the plan.

He said he feared losing £300m of regeneration funding aimed at turning RAF Scampton into a heritage site and asked Mr Jenrick: “How will he protect the safety of 1,000 people living right next door to 1,500 migrants, and a primary school? He can’t guarantee anything.”

‘Admission of failure’

Opposition MPs also criticised the announcement, with Labour’s Yvette Cooper calling it an “admission of failure”.

“Maybe that’s why the Home Secretary has asked the Immigration Minister to make it instead,” she quipped in a dig at her government counterpart.

Ms Cooper said the Conservatives promised four years ago to halve Channel crossings but “they’ve gone up 20 fold since then”, while more hotels have opened up despite repeated promises to stop their use.

“They keep making new announcements, but it just keeps getting worse,” she said.