Never mind the barracks

Labour's leader says Swinney has no ideas to fix problem

- BY CHRIS MCCALL

Cameron Barracks in Inverness will house asylum seekers

ANAS Sarwar says most Scots support the closure of asylum hotels and insisted they understand why barracks are being used as an alternative.

The Scottish Labour leader backed a Home Office decision to use Cameron Barracks, an Army base in Inverness, to temporarily house hundreds of refugees while their applications for the right to remain in the UK are processed.

Sarwar also said the SNP government was "confused" on the issue and challenged the Nationalists to offer an alternative to the use of hotels or barracks.

The Glasgow MSP was speaking yesterday after John Swinney blasted the Home Office for failing to engage with the community in Inverness before its decision was announced on Tuesday.

But speaking to journalists in Edinburgh, Sarwar said the ongoing housing emergency meant public housing stocks are under severe pressure.

He said: "We have to fix the mess that was left by the Conservatives and a broken immigration system. And as we work to clear the backlog, we have a choice to make.