Labour's illegal traveller site explosion: Fury at new record number of caravans on unauthorised sites as ministers are accused of 'cover-up'

By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 14:06, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 14:11, 2 July 2026 Labour has been accused of attempting to cover up the scale of England's illegal traveller site problem after the number of caravans parked in unauthorised camps hit a new record high. Official figures released today showed that the number of caravans parked without planning permission rose by 23 per cent in the year to January and now account for almost a fifth (17 per cent) of all encampments. The number of the residential vehicles parked on land not owned by travellers also rose by 81 per cent, while the overall total in England has also passed 29,000, the most documented since records began in 1979. It comes amid rising anger at cases where travellers have purchased land, often in leafy parts of the Home Counties, before swooping to lay tarmac and create pitches at weekends and on Bank Holidays when council officials are not around. They have then sought planning permission retrospectively, forcing local authorities to take legal action to kick them off an area already built over, in a frequently lengthy and costly process. But at the same time the government has unveiled plans to collect less data about sites. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced it plans to make the official Count of Traveller Caravans a single annual event, instead of doing it twice a year as it does currently. It has insisted that unauthorised traveller sites are local councils' problem.      Shadow communities secretary James Cleverly said: 'On Labour's watch, the number of traveller caravans on illegal sites is soaring and encampments on other people's land are up by a staggering 81 per cent. And Labour are trying to cover it up. Your browser does not support iframes. It came days after travellers were ordered to demolish a sprawling site built on protected green belt in a lightning-fast weekend 'land grab' in Essex  Your browser does not support iframes. 'The Conservatives are on the side of the local communities forced to put up with this lawbreaking. 'With the powers we will gain by leaving the ECHR, we will change the law to back the police and local authorities to tackle the problem at source - ending the two-tier treatment of travellers and restoring fairness to the system.' January’s caravan count found that the total number of traveller caravans in England was 29,402, up 2,109 - 8 per cent - from the 27,293 caravans reported in January 2025. It included an increase of 934 in the total number of caravans on unauthorised sites, taking the total to 4,950. Of this total, 615 were on unauthorised encampments on land not owned by travellers, an increase of 275 caravans. Mr Cleverly has raised the issue with Labour Communities Minister Matthew Pennycook.  But he said it was up to local councils 'to determine whether to enforce against unauthorised development and to keep records of their enforcement activities'. It came days after travellers were ordered to demolish a sprawling site built on protected green belt in a lightning-fast weekend 'land grab' – with families handed four months to leave. Shadow communities secretary James Cleverly said: 'On Labour's watch, the number of traveller caravans on illegal sites is soaring' The fields near Romford, Essex, had been untouched until council officials prepared to clock off on Friday, November 28 last year. Barely two-and-a-half hours later, the once peaceful grassland in Noak Hill had been transformed into a vast construction site. Eight diggers were tearing across the pasture beneath blazing floodlights as teams of workers carried out a huge earth-moving operation. By Saturday morning, convoys of eight-wheel lorries were blocking surrounding roads as they queued to deliver huge quantities of hardcore and other building materials. Within hours, the countryside was being carved into residential plots and smothered with hardstanding. Fences and concrete posts were erected, electricity and lighting installed and connections prepared for gas, drainage and water. The entire operation was intended to have the caravan site ready for occupation before Havering Council could secure stop notices or court injunctions. Full details of the 'carefully planned operation' were laid bare this month in an appeal against enforcement action ordering traveller families to leave the land. Planning inspector Grahame Kean described the extraordinary project as a 'disciplined rapid unauthorised development' intended to confront council staff with effectively a 'done deal' when they returned to work on the Monday. Friends, Families and Travellers, a non-profit advocacy group, last year blamed a lack of official spaces for the problem of unauthorised sites. Amid a row over one site set up in Newchapel, Surrey, a spokesman told the BBC that 'too many families remain stuck in limbo'. 'Without somewhere safe to stop, families are denied access to vital services like sanitation, healthcare and education,' they added. 'Increasing access to safe stopping places, like sites, can give Gypsy and Traveller families the stability and dignity that every community deserves.' The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached to comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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