Piddington Betrayed: Villagers warn Andy Burnham HE will be to blame for any migrant sex attacks

Leader of Piddington Parish Council, Tim McNally, has declared that if there are "any sexual offences" committed in Piddington by asylum seekers, it will be "on Andy Burnham's head".

The small Oxfordshire village, home to just 350 people, has been relentlessly fighting back against attempts to house migrants near their community.

But Angela Rayner used emergency powers to grant planning permission for the site.

Speaking on the decision, Mr McNally told The Sun: "I'm sorry, Andy Burnham, you're responsible for this. If any sexual violence happens, it will be on your head."

Defence Minister Luke Pollard defended Labour's decision to approve the asylum accommodation site at MoD Bicester on GB News this morning.

Host Anne Diamond pressed the minister on referring to asylum hotels "seven times" during his defence of the decision.

Mr Pollard told the People's Channel: "I think during this period there will be communities that have asylum accommodation on their doorstep.

"That will be a concern and that's why the Home Office is engaging with those communities.

"I recognise there will be some people who won't want that at all in their community, but there will be others for whom their mitigations will be appropriate for that community, and that is the engagement the Government is taking.

"But it's not an easy decision, there's no magic wand.

"The last Government couldn't solve the problem with half the number of hotels."

Quizzed on the "fears" felt by residents of Piddington, host Stephen Dixon made clear that their fears of violence and sexual offences that may be committed by the asylum seekers are "not being listened to".

Mr Pollard responded: "The asylum hotels that we inherited from the last Government, we as a nation, we across Government, including the MoD, are stepping up to close those hotels.

"That was a commitment that was made at the election. I recognise that uncertainty creates a lot of concern.

"That's why the engagement from the Home Office is so important.

"But as you just said, the process that we're undertaking here is designed to get after the asylum hotels that we inherited and we're reducing the asylum backlog."

In a statement following the decision, a Home Office spokesperson told GB News: "Planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MOD Bicester. However, a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken.

"The Government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1billion saved in costs since the election.

"This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites. These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community."