Chelmsford MP Marie Goldman has accused Reform UK of "stoking division" over plans to deploy private security guards in Chelmsford and two other Essex centres amid concerns surrounding the expansion of the Wethersfield asylum accommodation site.
Reform-led Essex County Council is preparing to introduce security operatives in Chelmsford, Braintree and Colchester under a three-month trial known as Operation Vanguard.
The scheme is expected to cost £150,000 and has been introduced by the council in response to concerns raised by residents about groups of men being transported from the former RAF Wethersfield site into nearby towns and cities.
But the plan has attracted criticism from Goldman's Liberal Democrats and Labour, with questions raised over whether the money would be better directed towards conventional policing.
Chelmsford MP attacks private security plan
Goldman, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, said the county council should provide greater resources to Essex Police rather than employ a private security company.
She said: "Instead of stoking division in our community and handing over wads of taxpayer cash to a private security company, Reform UK should be giving the much needed resource to our local police force who are fully trained and have the power to enforce the law."
Goldman also raised concerns about accountability and Britain's tradition of policing by consent.
She said Essex Police was already facing funding pressures and argued that additional resources should be directed towards officers responsible for protecting local communities.
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Operation Vanguard to cover three centres
Essex County Council announced Operation Vanguard as the Home Office prepares to increase the number of people accommodated at Wethersfield.
The former RAF base currently houses approximately 800 men awaiting decisions on asylum applications.
The council says the Home Office intends to increase capacity to 1,245, with the possibility of the site eventually accommodating 1,700 people.
Residents from Wethersfield are transported by minibuses to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford.
County council leader Peter Harris said the security scheme represented a "positive and proportionate response" to concerns residents had raised about the daily bussing of asylum seekers into the three centres.
The council says the private security operatives will provide a visible presence intended to reassure residents and deter anti-social behaviour.
Security guards will not have police powers
The security personnel will not, however, have additional law-enforcement powers.
Council documentation acknowledges that the operatives will have no greater powers to take action than ordinary members of the public and must not interfere with lawful activities.
Any situation requiring law-enforcement action will remain a matter for Essex Police.
The security staff could provide information to local authorities and police about incidents they observe.
The initial contract is intended to operate for three months, after which the effectiveness of the scheme can be assessed.
Council points to concerns over Wethersfield expansion
Harris has said concerns about community safety are particularly acute among women and girls and argued that those concerns could increase as the population at Wethersfield grows.
The county council is also questioning the Home Office over the transportation of residents from the site into neighbouring centres and is seeking discussions over resources provided to public services affected by large asylum accommodation facilities.
The Home Office has said it is moving away from asylum hotels towards alternative accommodation, including former military sites, while working with councils to minimise the effect on communities.
Operation Vanguard therefore leaves Essex County Council and Chelmsford's MP taking markedly different approaches to the same issue: the council argues an additional visible security presence will reassure residents, while Goldman says public money would be better spent strengthening the existing police service.