Labour MP slams Piddington villagers for ‘cynically’ using Hillsborough Law to oppose asylum plans

Big Tech / 13 November 2026 Union members keep Britain running as massive Microsoft outage disrupts police, NHS and schools 13 November 2026 Scottish NHS / 13 November 2026 Constance: NHS Grampian scandal ‘a line in the sand’ 13 November 2026 Cost-of-living Crisis / 13 November 2026 Burnham ‘failing families’ on soaring food costs, says SNP 13 November 2026 Society / 13 November 2026 University faces calls to apologise for platforming ‘men’s rights’ group 13 November 2026 Workers' Rights / 13 November 2026 Wessex Water admits health and safety offences after four workers killed in blast 13 November 2026 A LABOUR MP slammed villagers yesterday for “cynically” vowing to use the Hillsborough Law to halt plans to house more than 1,200 asylum-seekers nearby.

Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has approved full planning permission to convert the Ministry of Defence Bicester site near the village of Piddington, Oxfordshire.

Yesterday its parish council chair Tim McNally said there would be “many actions” by villagers in the coming weeks, and that ministers should “absolutely” be braced for a legal challenge.

He also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme they could apply the new Hillsborough Law.

Once passed, the law would create a legally enforceable duty of candour which compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place. 

Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson, a vocal campaigner for the Hillsborough Law, told the Morning Star: “Hillsborough should never be used as a political prop, cynically invoked to serve a particular agenda.

“The families of the 97, and the people of my city, fought for decades for truth, justice and accountability. They did so in the face of a state that sought to evade responsibility and smear innocent people.

“To invoke that legacy in a campaign against asylum-seekers is shameful.”

“The families did not fight for so long for their suffering to be appropriated to fuel hostility towards migrants.

“The Hillsborough law must never become a political weapon in the hands of those seeking to stoke fear and division towards the most vulnerable in our society.”

Residents against the plans have made a symbolic attempt to declare the village independent from the rest of the country.

But ministers want to use former military bases as part of efforts to close all asylum hotels, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it should not just be the poorest communities receiving dispersed refugees.

Downing Street insisted the safety of the public will always be its “top priority.”

Today Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf and shadow home secretary Chris Philp clashed in front of TV cameras during a visit to the village.

They raised their voices and spoke over each other for more than three minutes in front of locals.

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