THE Home Office has been hammered over plans to double the number of asylum seekers in Inverclyde by forcing refugees to share hotel rooms in what has been branded an 'abject policy failure'.

Under the plans, capacity at Greenock's Holiday Inn Express would jump from 69 to 134 with the vast majority of people having to share a room.

The hotel was requisitioned last year by the government to house people seeking asylum after a surge in applications.

The area's MP Ronnie Cowan has blasted the 'appalling' and 'desperate' room-share proposals and urged a rethink, after previously being told by the UK Government that they would reduce their reliance on hotels for asylum seekers.

Mr Cowan said: "This plan from the UK Government to double the number of asylum seekers in Inverclyde without doubling the facilities is appalling.

"It is a desperate measure to try to create as hostile an environment as possible for people seeking safe haven in the UK.

"The idea of placing strangers in the same room to share facilities adds risk for those involved at an already turbulent time.

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"It is a recipe to raise anxiety and tensions.

"Home Office policy is to reduce reliance on hotels as temporary accommodation.

"This plan is the opposite of that, so I had to email them to ask what is going on.

"Now it is clear that this is an abject policy failure."

The SNP man has called for the plan to be 'dropped immediately' and said Home Office officials told him that they accept that the proposal 'may present a conflicting message to the ongoing narrative around reducing the current reliance on hotels'.

However, they added that the situation has become 'more challenging' and that they need to explore 'different options'.

Mr Cowan added: "It is typical of the UK Government's double-speak that it wants to implement a measure which is totally opposed to its own policy.

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"This plan should be dropped immediately.

"I have spoken to many of the asylum seekers in Inverclyde and their circumstances are already difficult.

"Most would prefer, if it was possible, to return to their own country.

"They are in limbo because of the dereliction of duty by the UK Tory government in processing claims, and I have consistently raised cases with the Home Office.

"Inverclyde has a tradition of welcoming immigrants and recently, within that category, asylum seekers. We should be proud of that.

"But the UK Government's actions seem to be calculated to make life as difficult as possible for refugees and the communities they are accommodated in."

The Home Office said that room sharing is not new nor is it optional, and that any accommodation offered to asylum seekers by providers is 'of a decent standard' to meet all legal and contractual requirements.

A spokesperson added that families are not expected to share with other families, single males or single females, while security and support at these sites could be increased to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all service users is maintained.

A statement said: “Despite the number of people arriving in the UK reaching record levels, we continue to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute to meet our legal obligation.

“To reduce hotel use, asylum seekers will routinely share rooms with at least one person where appropriate.

"This will minimise the impact on communities while we stand up alternative sites.”