Anti-Asylum Protests and Violence Erupt Over RAF Barnham Housing Plans

The battle over RAF Barnham: how ominous anti-asylum protests engulfed a small Norfolk town

Thetford has a welcoming history. So why have there been so many demonstrations this summer over plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby military base – as well as nights of violent disorder ? ‘I don’t talk to mainstream media,” says a young man in an Arsenal shirt. I’ve just asked what brought him to the latest protest against the housing of asylum seekers in Thetford, Norfolk, and his disdain is clear as he goes to warn other protesters of the Guardian’s presence. This isn’t exactly the u...

By Tim Burrows