MKFM has spoken to the Leader of Milton Keynes Council who has responded to Conservative calls for the Council to 'get a grip' on illegal encampments.
This morning (11/7), MKFM reported that Oakgrove School was forced to close after travellers set up illegal encampment on the school's ground. Around 30 caravans have allegedly made their way over to the secondary school's field over the weekend, after reportedly smashing through the school gates.
Now, a political debate has been sparked after Local conservatives called on the Council to 'get a grip'.
Manish Verma, Deputy Leader of Milton Keynes Conservatives, said: “Nationally we’ve seen a failure from Labour and the Liberal Democrats to take illegal encampments seriously by voting against tougher action.
“We need the Labour-Lib Dem Council here in Milton Keynes to get a grip and put our schoolchildren first, rather than letting this disruption to their education continue.”
Ben Everitt, Local MP said: "This illegal encampment is absolutely outrageous and brings disruption and inconvenience to students, parents and staff. I recently voted in favour of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which gave police powers to crack down on unauthorised encampments like this.
“Labour and the Lib Dems voted against the Act but I will always stand on the side of the law-abiding majority and on the side of the police.”
MKFM contacted the Leader of Milton Keynes Council, Peter Marland, for a response to which he said: "MK Council is working with Thames Valley Police and the school, and the group have been issued with a notice that requires them to move on by 2pm today (Monday).
"Obviously we'd expect the police to investigate any criminal damage to the school and it's utterly unacceptable that young people have been forced to miss school due to this encampment.
"The reality of situations like this is that after 12 years in government the Conservatives have failed to provide any real long term solutions to tackle issues with Travellers. While we can move encampments on, and we do quickly and effectively, the danger is people simply look to move to the next possible area and so on. The price of this Conservative failure is that the cost falls onto local council tax payers to pick up the pieces.
"I must also say that the MK Conservatives are always too quick to send out a press release rather than actually check what action is being taken. Their priority is clearly to generate a headline and push division. Their local leader may have changed, but their silly eagerness to try and grab cheap headlines and spread misinformation, rather than be a proper opposition, is still clear."
It is not known if the school's sports day will be able to take place tomorrow, with the school stating that further updates will be provided.
UPDATE 3:30PM - Oakgrove School will remain closed tomorrow (12/7).
