A Reform-controlled council is to draft in private security guards to help police  protect locals amid a row over the expansion of a major migrant camp.

Essex County Council said it will provide 'security operatives' in Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford after it was announced that the capacity of the Wethersfield asylum centre would be increased by 50 per cent.

Council leader Peter Harris attacked the Home Office for running 'a fleet of 17 minibuses' to the three nearest towns and cities to the former RAF airfield.

He claimed there were 'concerns for community safety... particularly among women and girls', with the capacity of the centre due to grow from 800 to 1,245 men temporarily. 

'The induction process which migrants undergo at the centre is in my view woefully inadequate, especially on their introduction to British culture and the expectations we have of acceptable behaviour toward to women and girls,' he said.

'But we are not prepared to sit on our hands and wait for the next incident. We are taking action.'

The Reform councillor questioned why people were being bussed away from a centre that he has likened to a 'holiday camp'.

Writing for the Daily Mail this week, Mr Harris described how he visited the camp in his role as council leader. 

It boasts a fully equipped gymnasium, a fitness room, a full-sized football pitch and a substantial indoor sports hall with all the equipment for five-a-side soccer, basketball and cricket.

Mobile phones are provided for all residents, with generous allowances for free calls.

The main restaurant, serving two dining halls, provides three meals a day with a wide choice of meals, including vegetarian options. All the food is free.

The free minibuses are laid on to take the 800 camp residents into nearby Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester. 

The Reform plan has been named Operation Vanguard and will be paid for by local council tax payers. It is due to run for an initial three months, with two guards in each of the three urban areas.

Last month Braintree Council said it has been told by the Home Office that an extra 445 spaces would be provided at the Wethersfield asylum centre from the end of July under a system which sees a maximum of 60 additional people housed there per week.

The former military site was set up by the Conservatives in 2023 as the then-government battled to reduce the number of people held in hotels.

But it has come in for major criticism. 

Last week Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood doubled down on Andy Burnham's plans to send asylum seekers to wealthier areas by saying she wants a 'fair spread' of migrants across the country.

The Prime Minister vowed to make sure arrivals are not placed only in the 'poorest communities' and insisted more middle-class areas need to 'play their part'.

Ms Mahmood said she is targeting a mixed model of asylum accommodation by utilising military sites, former student apartments, bedsits and houses of multiple occupation.

She added that it would take time to 'transition' but would ensure 'no one type of community is bearing the brunt'.