Local Conservatives have called on MK Council to 'get a grip' on the illegal encampments disrupting students in the city.
Pupils at Oakgrove School in Milton Keynes are having to work from home today due to the school site not being 'safe for students or staff'. Around 30 caravans have allegedly made their way over to the secondary school's field.
Local Conservatives are now calling on the Progressive Alliance run 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, the MP for Milton Keynes North, commented: “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.”
Milton Keynes Council Leader, Peter Marland, has responded to the Conservative call, telling MKFM: "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."
UPDATE 3:30PM - Oakgrove School will remain closed tomorrow (12/7).
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