A World War II interrogation centre which could have housed Hitler’s deputy Rudolph Hess could become an alternative site for a controversial secondary school.

Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clarke announced last week Latchmere House, an open prison on the Kingston and Ham border, will shut in September.

A spokesman confirmed the site will be sold.

Kingston Council’s plans for an eight-form of entry school on the site of the North Kingston Centre in Richmond Road have met strong local opposition over fears about congestion, overcrowding and the demolition of the former Tiffin Girls’ School building.

North Kingston parents who campaigned for a new secondary school for a decade have called for the site to be re-examined as a possible alternative.

Conservative education spokesman Councillor Andrea Craig said: “Before I became a councillor, as one of the parents groups trying to find a site in north Kingston we looked at that site and thought it would look very strong.

“The only potential problem would be access for pupils and the effect it would have on the surrounding area.”

Councillor Liz Green, executive member for education, said: “We have spent money on the North Kingston Centre site to get where we are, but it’s not hideous amounts.

“We have not gone beyond the point of no return for the North Kingston Centre.

“Latchmere House appears to be a big site. I will ask officers to look at it and give a considered opinion.”

MI5 documents released in 1999 showed 480 suspects passed through Latchmere House, known as Camp 020, during World War II.

Local historians have long believed Hitler’s deputy Rudolph Hess and radio traitor Lord Haw-Haw were among them.

The prison service took over the site in 1948, and it is now used as a resettlement prison to help rehabilitate prisoners before release.