Napier Barracks: Arrested journalist says 'bad things going on'

A journalist held after photographing a protest at Kent's Napier Barracks asylum centre has said "bad things are going on there".

Andy Aitchison said he was arrested at his home on Thursday and held for seven hours at a police station where his memory card and phone were taken.

Calls for the site to close have come from campaigners and politicians after weeks of protests and a Covid outbreak.

The Home Office said the barracks provided safe and secure accommodation.

Mr Aitchison, who documented a demonstration in which protesters threw fake blood at the gates, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

He said: "There are obviously bad things going on there that they don't want anyone witnessing.

"It's the conditions there. They are cold. They have got one shower for 20 people. They are all sharing a room.

"They know that Covid-19 is rampant.

"They are worried about it and it's not fair to anyone."

Tensions at the Napier Barracks have been attributed by politicians and campaigners not just to coronavirus fears but also to uncertainty over asylum applications - along with the effect of housing traumatised people in an institutional, military setting.

The site was used to house about 400 asylum seekers until some were moved to self-isolation following a Covid-19 outbreak.

Thursday's protest was followed by a separate incident on Friday, when a disturbance broke out that saw windows smashed, a building set on fire.

After the fire, five men were arrested on Saturday and a further nine were detained on Sunday, police said.

One of the 14 has been charged with assault by beating, using or threatening unlawful violence and criminal damage.

The 31-year-old man has been remanded in custody to appear before Medway magistrates on Monday.

After Friday's suspected arson, Home Secretary Priti Patel called the "destruction... deeply offensive to the taxpayers of this country".

In a further statement, a spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "These sites have accommodated soldiers and Army personnel in the past and it is wrong to say they are not good enough for asylum seekers who have chosen to leave a safe country, mostly France, to come and claim asylum in the UK.

"During these unprecedented times we have worked tirelessly with local authorities and other partners to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with suitable accommodation - as we are required to do by law.

"These sites provide safe, secure accommodation with three nutritious meals served a day, all of which is paid for by the taxpayer."

Mr Aitchison, 46, of Folkestone, said police came to his home and arrested him in his kitchen after his pictures were used online.

The freelance photographer, who said he was receiving legal support from the National Union of Journalists, added: "They took my memory card out of the camera and took journalistic material."

He said he had been released on bail with the condition that he did not go near Napier Barracks.

Mr Aitchison emphasised that the protest he photographed was on Thursday and was not connected to the fire that broke out the following day.

"They said they had been asked to take me to the police station," he said. "That was at 3pm and I was released at 10.15pm.

"I said I was a journalist taking pictures and that was it. There was nothing else to say. I've no idea how I have committed criminal damage. I was there working."

He said he was standing in the road outside the barracks when he took the photographs.

In the police station, he had to wait in a cell and was given a book to read. Mr Aitchison said he was questioned for up to 15 minutes in total.

Mr Aitchison said he was still "in disbelief".

He said he did not know who staged the protest and was not part of it, adding: "I got a message saying pop up there. There might be something going on."

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police was called following a report of a protest in Shorncliffe, Folkestone at around 8am on Thursday 28 January. Officers attended and a 36-year-old man from the Dover area was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

"Further inquiries led to the arrest of a second man, aged 46, in Folkestone at around 3pm the same day. He was also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

"Both men have been released on bail until 22 February."