THE TERRIFIED women of Piddington all applaud Kemi Badenoch as she enters the village hall to hear their desperate plight.
The residents are deeply thankful to anyone backing their fight against 1,256 asylum seekers poised to be strolling around this corner of Oxfordshire.
Kemi Badenoch with The Jattvibe’s Ryan Sabey on her visit to Piddington Credit: Doug Seeburg
Kemi visits the women of Piddington, the village that left the UK in a referendum last week. Credit: Doug Seeburg
Horrified at the thought of their safety being at risk in this green and pleasant land, forty women— one with a baby—have come together to hear from the Tory leader.
The women gathered told her that one police officer had even told them their best means of defence was to “run and hide” if they faced an attacker.
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When asked if she would feel safe walking around with migrants nearby, Ms Badenoch says: “I feel safe now because they’re not here. This is one of the safest places in the country.
But she bluntly adds: “It could end up being one of the least safe places in the country.”
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VILLAGE REVOLT
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The village last week decided, by 285 votes to 26, to leave the United Kingdom Credit: Doug Seeburg
Ms Badenoch fears similarities to what happened close to her constituency in Epping Credit: Doug Seeburg
She has come to the village that only last week decided, by 285 votes to 26 in a symbolic show of defiance, to leave the United Kingdom.
The campaigners – some of whom have taken up self-defence classes – are aghast at plans to build an asylum camp with the all-male asylum seekers outnumbering the 350 villagers by four to one.
Ms Badenoch fears similarities to what happened close to her constituency in Epping, Essex, fearful of men hanging around every corner.
She said: “I heard from parents who said that they didn’t even go for walks in the park anymore.
“That’s the adults because there were men lurking in bushes, just lots of people with nothing to do, hanging around.
“And then they see our young people, they see our young women as easy prey. That’s not what’s right for this village.”
Christina Gower, 26, who greeted Ms Badenoch as she entered the parish hall said her visit “validates” everything they are doing to stop the camp.
Resident Melise Witkin, 59, said: “We would be scared to go out at night. We don’t give it a second thought at the moment.
“It will be pitch black once the autumn nights draw in. I won’t go out to take my three dogs. I’m single, I wouldn’t go, I would be terrified, I wouldn’t chance it.
“I stand no chance. I speak for the village.”
But the Conservative leader said it was “absolutely shocking” that 5,000 different men could be staying in the camp with its high turnover.
She also takes aim at Bridget Philipson, the Minister for Equalities, who this weekend said that “all of us women in society are unsafe”.
Legal challenges on ecological grounds may be one way of keeping Ministers at bay Credit: Doug Seeburg
Ms Badenoch says it was ‘absolutely shocking’ that 5,000 different men could be staying in the camp Credit: Doug Seeburg
It comes as Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones today revealed she clutched her keys in her hand walking home to her flat in London amid concerns over her safety.
Ms Badenoch adds: “This is not just an immigration issue. This is a safeguarding issue. This is a women’s issue, and Labour spend all their time saying that they care about women.
“But what did Bridget Philipson say when Piddington women raised this with her? She said all women are unsafe. Just a stupid comment to make.
“That’s the comment of someone who doesn’t care, someone who doesn’t give a damn.
“I want the women of Piddington, and to be honest, the women of this country to know that I give a damn and I will always fight for them.”
She added: “Not a single government minister has bothered to come down here and talk to these women. They haven’t been offered a meeting. They have been dismissed.”
Having spent forty minutes with the women in the village hall talking through their on-going fight, she knows who she will hold responsible if an attack does happen.
She then walked in solidarity with the group to the village sign that now proudly boasts of being the “Principality of Piddington” following their non-binding referendum.
Kemi Badenoch says she isn’t hopeful the Prime Minister has the inclination to reduce the welfare bill Credit: Doug Seeburg
Ms Badenoch visits the women at Piddington village hall Credit: Doug Seeburg
Legal challenges on ecological grounds may be one way of putting the plans on ice, the villages say.
She adds: “One of the women in the parish meeting that I had said that they have given their warnings, and if the government doesn’t listen and something bad happens, then the government will be accountable.
“That Burnham will be held responsible, and I think that that’s right. That you know, irrespective of what the law says, the court of public opinion will say that you were warned that something might happen.
“If something does happen, then the decision maker has to take responsibility.”
She isn’t hopeful the Prime Minister has the inclination to reduce the welfare bill – let alone tackle the small boats crisis that adds to the asylum backlog.
So far this year around 16,300 people have arrived but there is still huge public anger despite the numbers being down by around 47 per cent on the same period last year.
She said: “We need to make sure that we don’t create a pull factor for lots of people who have no business being here.
“If people in all sorts of countries know that they can get here, get three meals a day, a roof over their head just by arriving here, and you know can even get to a point where they’re claiming benefits, of course more and more people are going to come.
“What we’ve seen is that Andy Burnham is not interested in even stopping benefits, let alone stopping the boats. We need a Prime Minister who is serious about dealing with this problem.
“He just thinks that he can disperse the problem all around and that’s enough. It’s not good enough.”
