PLAN TO MOVE MIGRANTS INTO NEW-BUILD PAUSED – Ministers have ordered a review of the plans to use some 21 new homes

A plan to house more than 80 asylum seekers in new-build homes has been halted by the Home Office.

Ministers have ordered a review of the plans to use some 21 new homes, which have been estimated to be worth up to £250,000, in the Shropshire village of Stoke Heath for 83 asylum seekers after a backlash from residents and politicians.

The site had been earmarked for asylum seekers before Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, introduced rules barring the use of new-build or “luxurious” homes for migrants, as well as barring them from being placed near schools or nurseries.

However, Mark Pritchard, the MP for The Wrekin, said he had been told by senior Home Office officials that a review by ministers was under way.

The move had been part of an initiative by the Home Office to reduce the number of asylum hotels and switch migrants to larger former military sites, medium-sized accommodation sites, such as former student accommodation, and houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).