“I’ll be at that gate with my kilt,” says Inverness protester Thomas.
He was one of the first people Sky News met as we visited the Highland city preparing to welcome 300 male asylum seekers at a 150-year-old army barracks just minutes from the High Street.
But if our experience testing the temperature is anything to go by, it seems the welcome will be far from the traditional hospitality this part of the world is famous for.
The Scottish Highlands currently has no asylum seekers, according to the latest Home Office data. It makes it a unique part of Britain as other communities witness rising numbers of arrivals.
The UK government is planning drastic changes in the coming weeks. It announced plans to bring 309 male asylum seekers to Cameron army barracks in Inverness.
The military base was built in 1876 and now looks set to become Britain’s most northern migrant centre as officials aim to cut the use of costly asylum seeker hotels.
Thomas, who did not want to share his full name, said he had signed a petition against the proposals and hinted he was ready to campaign against it.
He said: “I’ll be at that gate with my kilt on.
“I’ll be there with posters and shouting ‘get tae’. I think we are more scared. I think it’s more invasion.”
Fellow protester Chloe said: “Everyone is scared. I am worried for my child.”
She cited the recent conviction of migrant Deng Chol Majek, who stabbed hotel worker Rhiannon Whyte to death with a screwdriver in the West Midlands.
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Another man, who did not want to provide his name, told Sky News he was previously homeless.
“It’s disgusting. It’s a shambles. I wouldn’t want to say what I’d do to them (migrants) but I wouldn’t be putting them in the barracks,” he told us.
He concluded: “We should ship them back to their own country. They don’t deserve to be in this country.”
‘Extreme views’
I also met offshore wind engineer Kai Fraser, who said: “I have no problem with them being here. There are a few people who have got really big problems with it which are unfounded. They need to go somewhere.
“It is peddled by Farage and his ilk. It is exposing quite a few folks’ extreme views that were traditionally hidden behind closed doors.”
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Since the announcement was made by the Home Office, it has emerged Cameron Barracks requires a £1m revamp, including new boilers and the possible removal of asbestos.
Contract tender documents seen by The Times suggested the work was due to begin in January, weeks after the asylum seekers were supposed to be moving in.
There are questions over whether the arrivals could be delayed over fears of a legal challenge from migrants over the conditions. Councillors in Inverness are set to meet in the coming days amid suggestions they could use planning laws to block the plans.
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Swinney: It’s a mess
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said UK ministers, who are responsible for the asylum system, had made “another mess”.
He said: “What will be the availability of healthcare services? What will be the availability of support services? We have no answers to these questions. The Home Office has given no answers whatsoever.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.
“This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities.
“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across government so that we can accelerate delivery.”
