Piddington women attend Parliament as Tories continue protest against Labour plans to house 1,200 male migrants near tiny Oxfordshire village

A group of women from Piddington journeyed to Parliament today as they continue to fight plans to house a large number of male migrants next to their Oxfordshire village. The Government wants to accommodate 1,256 male asylum seekers at a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) site in Bicester. But residents of Piddington – a tiny village of around 400 residents near to the site – have launched a fierce campaign against the proposal. This has included voting in a symbolic referendum last month to leave the UK in protest against the Home Office plans. A group of female Piddington residents attended the House of Commons on Wednesday as MPs debated Labour 's bid to house migrants at MoD Bicester. An Opposition Day motion tabled by the Conservatives condemned the plans and urged ministers to quit European human rights laws in order to deport illegal migrants. A group of women from Piddington, pictured with Tory shadow minister Joy Morrissey, journeyed to Parliament today The Government wants to accommodate 1,256 male asylum seekers at a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) site in Bicester. But residents of Piddington – a tiny village of around 400 residents near to the site – have launched a fierce campaign against the proposal As she opened this afternoon's debate, Tory shadow women and equalities minister Joy Morrissey noted the presence of the Piddington women in the Commons gallery. In an attack on Labour, Ms Morrissey told MPs: 'The benches opposite would not go and meet the women of Piddington and hear their concerns. 'So today these benches brought the women of Piddington to them - they are in the gallery today. 'Now the Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson) and her colleagues on the front and back benches opposite have nowhere to hide.' Ms Morrissey added that MPs should back the Tory proposal to 'stand up for our local communities to protect them from illegal migrant men'. She claimed these men had committed 'horrific crimes' over recent years, saying that they 'should have been deported before they could roam our streets and forever change the lives of young women and girls'. Ms Morrissey also said Labour MPs did not want to debate 'this issue because of the ideological capture of their own party – capture by people who have placed an obsession with multiculturalism above a cohesive British society'. Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller, whose Bicester and Woodstock constituency is home to both Piddington and MoD Bicester, described the site as unsuitable for housing migrants. Mr Miller branded the proposal as 'wrong for local communities and my constituency is wrong for asylum seekers and is wrong for the taxpayer'. He added he had heard Piddington residents' concerns about women and girls' safety. 'I understand why they are fearful today,' he continued. 'As a society, we are failing to protect them from predatory men and, when the worst happens, the justice system is not delivering them swift justice. 'No wonder they lack confidence they will be kept safe. In that context, any proposal to house over 1,200 men in a new site adjacent to small villages would be a cause for fear and concern.' Mr Miller also accused the Conservatives and Reform UK of 'trying to turn this into a race issue' and added: 'It's not a race issue, it's a man issue. 'Women and girls are at risk from the behaviour of men. Tragically, nine in 10 assaults are committed by men they know. 'I will continue to fight for more police and court resources to keep women and girls safe.' Mr Miller accused his opponents of trying to 'divide rather than unite' with their bid to call on the Government to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Home Office minister Anna Turley had earlier said that the way asylum seekers have been housed until now has been wrong, but said a final decision on Piddington had not been made. 'For too long, the way in which we house asylum seekers has not been fair,' she said. 'Billions of pounds have been spent putting them up in hotels while communities have seen these hotels, often at the centre of their towns or cities become a symbol of a broken asylum system. 'Areas where housing costs are low, and which are already left behind were asked to bear more than their fair share.' She added: 'While the Home Office has submitted a planning application to use MoD Bicester site for asylum accommodation, no final decision has been made.' She praised Piddington campaigners for an 'incredibly imaginative and very forceful' campaign. Ahead of Wednesday's debate, Piddington resident Louise Brooker said she and her fellow villagers had wanted to show MPs they 'completely disagree' with the Home Office plans. 'We fear for our safety, we fear for the safety of our families. And today we're here as the women of Piddington,' she told GB News. 'But we speak for all women in the UK. It's not just a problem that is happening in Piddington, it is happening across the country and the Government need to get a grip of the out-of-control immigration that we are seeing as a country. 'It's a Government failure on your doorstep. They can't control the border, and now you're left feeling unsafe in your community.' At the end of the debate, MPs voted by 309 to 113, majority 196, against the Tory motion calling for Britain to withdraw from the ECHR and condemning the MoD Bicester plans.