Lawyers denied access to asylum seekers in Kent barracks

Exclusive: Solicitors firm says clients need advice on asylum claims, removals and conditions at the site

Lawyers have been denied access to an army barracks used to house asylum seekers to speak to dozens of clients who require urgent legal advice, the Guardian has learned, even as residents are moved directly to detention centres for removal from the UK.

Napier barracks in Kent and Penally barracks in Pembrokeshire, which between them hold more than 600 men, were handed over from the Ministry of Defence to the Home Office in September to be used as accommodation for asylum seekers.