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BREAKING: Housing secretary Angela Rayner has approved plans to accommodate 1,256 male asylum seekers at MOD Bicester in Oxfordshire, next to the village of Piddington. Latest: | 🇬🇧 The UK Tonight:
UK Approves Asylum Site in Tiny Piddington Despite Local Protests
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner used urgent powers on November 12 to grant permission for the former military site, overriding 3,177 objections from the 350-person community amid high national demand for asylum housing. Locals worry the influx would overwhelm their rural home and pose safety risks, especially since the men could outnumber local women eight to one. The decision sparked a public clash between Reform UK's Zia Yusuf and Conservative Chris Philp, with deeper party divisions over migration policy now in sharp focus as legal challenges loom.