A defiant mum has warned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood her community “won’t be bullied” into accepting a migrant camp she branded a “simulated war zone” on the edge of a protected forest. Kim Bailey, 44, a mother of four and director of the Community Interest Company Crowborough Shield, is spearheading a legal battle against the Government’s decision to house up to 600 asylum seekers at the former cadet training centre in Ashdown Forest.

Speaking exclusively ahead of a crucial High Court hearing on Wednesday, Ms Bailey said: “She’d already evicted the cadets from the training centre. This is not a disused army barracks, as she was claiming; this is actually the most-used cadet training facility in the Southeast.” The site, owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by contractor Clearsprings, was repurposed under emergency provisions typically reserved for wartime or natural disasters. Ms Bailey argues this bypasses democratic processes and ignores local planning laws that strictly limit development in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Ms Bailey told The Express yesterday: “If this Home Secretary can develop a policy that wholly relies on evoking emergency powers—powers reserved for times of war or natural disasters—then something is fundamentally wrong. If we don’t get permission to go forward tomorrow, it sends a sad message that this Government can do what they want without scrutiny. We don’t vote to be ruled; we vote for representation. That thought terrifies me.”

The hearing, set for 10.30am, will determine whether Crowborough Shield can proceed to a full judicial review. The group is also seeking a £10,000 cost cap to shield them from crippling legal fees if they lose, and an order forcing Mahmood to disclose key documents. Ms Bailey explained: “She’s contesting all of those points. What she’s saying is that we submitted our application prematurely because she hadn’t made a decision until seven hours before the asylum seekers were actually moved into the camp. Now, we know that’s not true.”

More than 100 asylum seekers—mostly men aged 18 to 35—are already on site, with capacity planned for 600 residents plus 185 staff. Ms Bailey reported “issues” since their arrival, including police complaints and CCTV footage of “not pleasant” behaviours, though she declined to elaborate. Ms Bailey said: “There have been concerns raised to the police which I’m not at liberty to talk about.”

Locals fear the influx will strain infrastructure in the East Sussex town, where GP appointments are already scarce. Ms Bailey said: “We already struggle to get GP appointments. You have to phone at 8am, you’re number 27 in the queue, and 45 minutes later the appointments are gone.” Initially promised on-site medical care, the plan shifted to a “triage system” with priority access to local surgeries—a move she called infuriating for taxpayers.

Perceived environmental hypocrisy is a flashpoint. Ashdown Forest’s protected status means residents face stringent planning hurdles; even a garden shed requires hefty contributions to offset recreational impact. Yet, the camp’s approval sidesteps these. Ms Bailey, who previously described the camp as a “simulated war zone”, said: “Applications are refused for a family of four because of the impact extra people have on the forest. Yet, they’re saying that 600 migrants plus 185 staff—seven to eight hundred people daily—can be offset, but a family of four can’t?!”

She lambasted local Green Party figures, including Wealden District Council co-leader Rachel Millwood, for ignoring the site’s diesel generators, which were spewing pollution into the habitat of protected species. Ms Bailey charged: “The impact of that pollution on a protected forest with protected species is being ignored by this Government and our Green Party.”

The Government’s “arrogance” has galvanised opposition, with Crowborough Shield raising £105,000 from over 2,000 donors worldwide, including in Slovenia and Latvia. Funds have bankrolled the legal fight, but Ms Bailey warned the fundraiser has “plateaued,” with future steps hinging on the court’s ruling.

Ms Bailey argued that the Home Secretary’s insistence that Crowborough was just the first of many epitomised the feeling that there was a strategy of intimidation at work. She said: “She’s trying to frighten and bully us into backing down because her actual legal argument is weak.”

Rejecting NIMBY accusations, Ms Bailey insisted the protest transcended immigration. She said: “This is not about immigration; it’s about safety and planning. It’s about 600 men, aged 18 to 35, placed on the edge of a town with no infrastructure and nothing to do. Men need a purpose. If they’re sat around a boring town with nothing to do, they’ll make their own entertainment.”

The camp’s midnight arrivals—bused in at 3.30am—fuelled suspicions of secrecy. Ms Bailey added: “If everything was above board and safe, why sneak them in at night? Why not have community engagement?” Crowborough has welcomed Afghan and Ukrainian refugees before, she noted, but this “ram-raiding” decision lacks consultation.

Evicting cadets from their “vital” facility adds insult. Ms Bailey said: “You cannot say the benefits of housing 600 asylum seekers outweigh the risks to the young people who used that facility. They were evicted with nowhere to go. It is cruel to strip those opportunities away from our youth.”

As a busy mum thrust into activism, Ms Bailey decried political bickering. Ms Bailey said: “I can’t stand politics; the way they behave in the House of Commons is not leadership. This community needed its representatives to work together against an undemocratic decision.”

If the challenge fails, Ms Bailey fears nationwide ramifications: unchecked Government power disrupting communities. She warned: “People won’t just sit by and allow a Government to disrupt communities at their leisure. We won’t be bullied.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “While it would be inappropriate to comment during ongoing legal proceedings, we will be defending any action robustly.

“The Government is removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain. That is why we will close every single asylum hotel, moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation like military barracks.”