Donald Trump has been told to block Labour’s bid to house migrants at a disused Royal Air Force base in Suffolk.

Allies of the President have told GB News the White House could take a dig at Downing Street over its plan to parachute 1,250 unvetted foreigners into MoD Barnham.


For the past five months, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been eyeing up the leafy village, home to just 500 residents, to make way for the influx of unwanted neighbours.

Greg Swenson, Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, told the People’s Channel Mr Trump “likes to make jabs about mass migration” and could see the President interjecting over the “absurd” decision from Andy Burnham’s top team.

“I think the President would probably say something about that town anyway, not just because of Thomas Paine, but just because of how absurd it is,” the Trump ally told The People’s Channel.

In the past, Mr Trump lamented the migrant crisis was “killing” Europe, ordering former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to “get his act together”.

Speaking to Late Show Live presenter Bev Turner, the President even warned the issue facing the UK was “more important than inflation”.

Remarking on Mr Trump’s apparent affinity for commenting on Britain’s plight, Mr Swenson explained the President “likes to throw little darts at these guys”.

He said: “He’s fine in person. He gets along with Andy Burnham. He got along with Keir Starmer, until he didn’t. He likes to make the jabs about energy and about mass migration.”

Donald Trump and Bev Turner

Donald Trump told GB News’s Bev Turner mass migration and energy policy were major challenges for Britain

| GB NEWS

But Mr Trump was tipped to avoid direct involvement and show respect for a sovereign nation.

He said: “You know, it’s not his business. It’s a sovereign country – but it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t make a comment about it.”

Sir Keir’s relationship with Britain’s US partners hit a wall when the former prime minister refused to support US strikes on Iran earlier this year.

The move appeared to open the floodgates to swathes of criticism from the Oval Office over Britain’s migrant crisis.

BARNHAM’S FIGHTBACK – READ MORE:

Thomas Paine statue in Thetford

Thetford is the birthplace of the Founding Father

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GETTY

And, last week, Piddington residents encouraged Barnham councillors to capitalise on Mr Trump’s interest by winning attention from Washington through its Anglo-American heritage.

Just three miles from Barnham, Thetford is the birthplace of US Founding Father Thomas Paine.

Some 250 years ago, the British-born rebel stirred up commotion in the town – and now its villagers are hoping to do the same today.

Chief propagandist Mr Paine immigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 with support from Benjamin Franklin.

Penning the 174-page pro-independence pamphlet Common Sense, the revolutionary fuelled the American Patriot movement. The document later became the second-most-read book in the US of all time, behind the Bible.

And Mr Paine has been memorialised in the Norfolk village, with a statue of the revolutionary proudly standing outside the town hall.

The town refuses to shy away from its American heritage, with the Thomas Paine Hotel named after him.

Now, locals are hoping to send a message across the pond by appealing to the President’s interest in protecting this cornerstone of US history.

“I don’t know if Donald Trump knows Barnham exists or not, but if he did, and the more interest we can get, the better,” John Bauer, the parish councillor spearheading the Barnham revolt, told the channel.

“That gets the attention of the decision-makers.”

Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, one of Washington’s most prominent right-wing think tanks, lauded the bid by Barnham residents – and suggested Mr Trump could weigh in.

He told Britain’s News Channel: “The whole asylum system in the UK is an outrage. It is better to stop it at the source rather than have it be a village-by-village approach. Having said that, Labour never will.

“Imagine how much all of this will cost the UK taxpayer. So given the parlous state of things, I understand the villagers trying whatever they can to protect their homes.

“Their effort, thus, is praiseworthy, and I can see President Trump taking an interest.”

Buildings or monuments in Britain strongly intertwined with American history, such as homes of Founding Fathers and their ancestors, can be protected by planning laws.

RAF Barnham

RAF Barnham has not been used as an active military base since 2010

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PA

Some are even defended in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 if UK criteria for architectural or historic importance are met.

Mr Bauer continued: “Anything that we can use to put pressure on the Government if it’s appropriate, whether that be a referendum, whether that be interest from Donald Trump through the Thomas Paine link…”

“Nothing is being ruled out. You’ve got the facts. Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers. He came from this area, he was a bit of a rebel, he stirred things up a bit.”

Even Terry Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, backed the creative method of reaching out to Mr Trump, saying “any option was worth looking at”.

The village are already taking a leaf out of the revolutionary’s book as they consider a symbolic referendum to declare independence and leave the UK, a few weeks after Piddington’s unprecedented vote.

Last week, GB News visited the sleepy Suffolk village and raised the alarm over the risk of setting up a migrant camp so close to military bases used by the US Air Force.

Mr Bauer pointed out the closeness of RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell, key airbases with longstanding links to the US military, were a cause for concern.

Barnham locals

The locals told GB News the plans to house asylum seekers in their village is ‘really a safety issue’

| GB NEWS

Mildenhall and Lakenheath have the largest USAF presence in the entire country and are heavily involved in the ongoing attacks on the Islamic Republic.

American fighter jets are being sent to the Suffolk sister bases for maintenance and refuelling purposes as the Iran war rumbles on.

RAF Honington, which used to use MoD Barnham as an overflow site, is home to 1,600 personnel from the British Armed Forces.

Sending a direct plea to Mr Trump, a Barnham resident told the People’s Channel: “I just want him to understand the danger, and I know he does.

“He just needs to be made aware of this here. He and the Prime Minister of this great country should sit down and have a serious discussion.”

Mr Trump’s possible foreign intervention for the sake of national security would not be unprecedented, however.

A fortnight ago, the President announced a deal between the US and Denmark to establish a military presence on Greenland to deter unwanted advances from China or Russia in the strategic location.

Mr Jermy, who was born in Thetford, pointed out surrounding bases, like Honington, would have a chance to represent themselves in the Home Office’s planning process.

Barnham protest

The sleepy village has been the epicentre of furious backlash

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PA

He said: “I’m sure that they will have a view and they need to take part in the process, which is the most likely way we are going to stop this is through the planning or legal process.”

Instead of the migrant camp, the Labour MP proposed transforming the disused site into a joint training centre for Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies.

Both police forces have already requested to buy the strategically located land, right on the border of both counties in East Anglia.

Under ministers’ current plan to merge police forces, Mr Jermy said it was “highly likely” the counties would be banded together anyway.

Before Barnham was floated as a potential site for joint training, Norfolk Constabulary had to trudge all the way to Oxfordshire for their mandated teaching.

“I would much rather have a local solution,” he said.

“We don’t want our officers spending hours in cars travelling. A local solution, and I think the strategic significance for the police of that location trumps the alternative usage.”

A Home Office spokesman previously told GB News: “This Government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with £1billion saved in costs since the election.

“This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites.”



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