Labour MP Jo White has said she plans to introduce a ten-minute rule bill to give local people greater say over where asylum seekers are housed.

Speaking on GB News she said: “The fact that Serco has purchased those properties for asylum seekers is truly shocking and my conversations with the minister today is that when we came into government, we immediately banned new houses being used for asylum seekers.

“I think what’s happened there is an old Serco contract must have been committed before we came into government. But what Shabana [Mahmood] has done today, and I totally support her, she’s completely banned asylum seekers being placed in new properties.

“I believe when she says something it feeds straight through to Serco. When I’ve had concerns in my constituency about HMOs and where they’re sited, I found the minister listens and action was taken immediately.

“What I would like to see, and as I think most of the country would like to see, is greater controls of where HMOs are and how they’re sited.

“Now, I’ve had the same conversation I had with the Minister today. I want to put a 10 minute rule bill into Parliament about how we have much greater local control over where HMOs are sited.

“In 2010 the law was changed so that properties that are converted for three to six people no longer need planning permission but it’s not working. I want much tighter controls.

“I would like to overturn that 2010 legislation, so that local people have a greater say about where HMOs are. But also I want local authorities to look at social cohesion so not too many together, where asylum seekers, but also local people have a say where they go.

“If you look at where most of the HMOs are, they are in Labour voting seats, and that’s been one of the issues that there hasn’t been a fair balance across the country.

“But I totally agree we have to stop the boats and the legislation that’s coming through, I believe, is going to create greater disincentives for people trekking thousands of miles across and then coming across on the channel.

“I want to break those criminal gangs. 110 have been broken in the past year by having much tougher border controls. But what you want to do is put the message out there. If you come here, you can be put in a military base, you are not going to be put up in a hotel.”