Council Leader Cllr Ian Maher has expressed surprise about what he called ‘misleading’ comments made by MP Damian Moore about Pontins

Sefton Council Leader Cllr Ian Maher has expressed surprise about what he called ‘misleading’ comments made by MP Damian Moore about the Home Office’s decision not to take over Southport Pontins to house asylum seekers.

Cllr Maher said: “It is disappointing to see Southport’s Tory MP making misleading comments about this process, which is about finding shelter for people who have in many cases been forced to risk their lives fleeing conflict and persecution.

“Sefton Council has a long history of welcoming people in these circumstances to the Borough and supporting them and as a result when consulted by the Government’s about its plans to use Southport Pontins we gave it full consideration.

“We raised a number of issues with the Home Office which included expressing concerns about the additional pressure the site would place on our social services which, as a result of over a decade of Government underfunding and the effects of the COVID pandemic, are already under extreme pressure. We were informed some days ago by the Home Office that it had abandoned its plans for Southport Pontins.   However, we are still awaiting confirmation in writing of this decision.

It has been a complex issue and we assumed the Home Office decision was the last of it, so I was surprised to hear Damien Moore making contradictory comments this week.

“This Government needs to get a grip on its broken immigration policy rather than have a Conservative MP trying to implicate others for his Government’s own failures.