Prescott approves asylum detention centre

John Prescott today gave the go-ahead to controversial plans for an asylum detention centre near the Oxfordshire town of Bicester, in the teeth of local opposition.

The Deputy Prime Minister approved Home Secretary David Blunkett's proposal for the 750-bed "accommodation centre" days after asylumseekers were cleared of arson during a riot at the Yarl's Wood detention centre.

The Bicester camp, at a disused RAF base, will hold those waiting for their applications for refugee status to be decided - with building work beginning within months.

It will house men, women and children who will be free to come and go during the day but locked up at night.

Mr Prescott over-ruled the local council's refusal to give the plans permission in a move that will be a boost for Mr Blunkett's asylum policies. But residents may launch a legal battle after 3,000 signed a petition against the centre.

They fear a repeat of the Yarl's Wood fiasco, when the flagship centre in Bedfordshire was destroyed weeks after it opened in a fire started as asylum-seekers ran wild.

Only three were convicted of riot and the cost could top £120 million after a long trial, expected appeals against the sentences, and a bid by the centre's owner, Group 4, to sue the local police for £100 million.

The Home Office also plans a centre at an old RAF base, at Newton, Notts, and is considering a third at former Royal Navy facilities in Gosport.