The Thistle City Barbican will close in December after the Home Office was served notice by its landlord

ASYLUM seekers say they fear being moved to military barracks after the shock closure of the hotel where they currently live.

The Tribune reported last week that the Thistle City Barbican would be closed in December after the Home Office was served notice by its landlord.

Residents were informed of the move late last Thursday but they must wait to find out where they will be transferred to.

“Of course we are feeling nervous,” said Ily who fled Afghanistan after being pursued by the Taliban for teaching IT to girls.

“We are worried about being moved to military bases. I mean you escape being killed, being tortured, and then they put you in military bases. Of course, it’s traumatising.”

The government say they are committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the year 2029, and defence secretary John Healey told the BBC earlier this month that they were considering expanding the use of military sites for asylum accommodation.

Under the previous Conservative government, sites in Essex and Kent were opened up to house those waiting for their claims to be processed.

Before Labour were in power, they had opposed the use of military sites, which experts have warned pose legal and safety risks, but are now moving ahead with plans to build accommodation on the disused bases.

Meanwhile, charity workers told the Tribune that there were concerns the process of moving the asylum seekers would be a repeat of the “chaotic” scene following the closure of the Clink78 hostel in King’s Cross earlier this year.

In April some asylum seekers were given only 24 hours’ notice by Clearsprings, which holds the government contract to house, feed and transport asylum seekers in London and the south-east, of where they would be moved.

Ily told the Tribune: “I don’t know exactly what will happen. People are sad, because some have been here for two years. They have friends, they have a community, they are near each other.

“We haven’t been told anything new. Who knows what is happening in the background? They’ve told us ‘you will be told five days before you’re leaving’.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “We have committed to close all asylum hotels, and to achieve this, we will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities.

“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across government so that we can accelerate delivery, and more detail will be set out in due course.”

Clearsprings declined to comment.