Asylum hotel protests latest: Police on standby for thousands of anti-migrant demonstrators across UK – UK Times

Asked about the housing migrant crisis, Katie Lam said: “There is no good answer, there is nowhere satisfactory to put people who have come here illegally other than to detain them and deport them.”

Labour are now facing the prospect of several councils launching legal action against migrant hotels, which could see asylum seekers placed into HMO or military bases.

The shadow home office minister said this would come at an “eyewatering cost to the taxpayer” and said: “The only solution is to detain people when they arrive.”

She added: “It is difficult to do, this labour government has made it harder, they have scrapped the Rwanda plan for ideological reasons, I think they may have come to regret that as it was the only real deterrent.”

A council at the centre of a legal case to block a hotel from housing asylum seekers was among the top 10 UK local authorities which saw the biggest rise in numbers staying in this kind of accommodation in recent months.

Epping Forest District Council in Essex went from housing 28 asylum seekers in hotels in its area in March this year, to 199 by the end of June.

The latest data breakdown, published by the Home Office on Thursday, comes two days after the council secured a High Court temporary injunction blocking the use of Epping’s Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds.

The legal case followed protests and counter-protests outside the Bell Hotel.

There were 124 local authorities across the UK housing asylum seekers in hotels at the end of June, according to the Home Office data.

This is around a third of all UK authorities.

Read the full article here:

An asylum seeker staying in the Bell Hotel in Epping has urged the government to “close all the hotels” and allow people to work.

Mohammed, from Somalia, told the BBC that he thought regular housing “would be better”.

He expressed the desire to support himself by working instead.

“So, if you cannot work and you don’t have enough socials [things to do], it is difficult,” he told the broadcaster.

“They are not allowed to work; they stay for long time.

“We don’t have guarantee [of becoming a] resident, so they get stress.

“The people, they go outside and they try to make problem.”

Shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam has said that members of the public have the right to protest, as police forces across the country prepare for an estimated 30 anti-migrant events and counter-protests.

She told GB News: “I think that we’ve been seeing are local people peacefully making their voices heard and their thoughts known. In a democracy we should all welcome putting forward how they feel about something, and voicing genuine concerns. They have a right to express that.”

Asked if she was concerned that these protests could stretch police services, which will take place alongside Premier League football games and the Notting Hill Carnival, she said: “If they tip into violence but a lot of these protests haven’t and long may that continue.”

Thursday’s migration figures have shown that the government has made progress on cutting the asylum application backlog.

The total number waiting was 70,532 in June, down from more than 90,000 at the end of 2024, after the former Tory government stopped processing applications while it waited to see if it could send people to Rwanda under its ultimately failed deportation scheme.

The numbers waiting for more than 12 months for a decision are also falling significantly, although some 19,000 are still waiting.

The Home Office is responsible for asylum and protection in the UK, and must now find somewhere else for these people to go.

Some of the options include other hotels, HMOs or military bases:

Labour is facing the possibility of more councils launching legal action to restrict the use of asylum hotels.

Hillingdon Council is the latest to indicate it is considering its legal options following Epping Council’s High Court win.

Hillingdon Council leader Ian Edwards told Local Democracy Reporters: “Our head of legal will be reviewing the judgement to determine if a similar case can be brought.”

The government is scrambling to draw up a contingency plan as it braces for challenges from authorities including Labour-run councils, who are now among those considering legal challenges of their own.

Seven counter-protests have been set up by anti-racism campaigners on Friday.

In recent weeks, there has been a surge in anti-migrant demonstrations outside hotels housing people who are seeking asylum.

Following the release of migration figures, dozens more have been planned over the weekend, The Independent understands.

Stand Up to Racism has co-ordinated counter-protests at almost every site.

On Friday counter-protests will go ahead outside hotels in cities and towns including Bournemouth, Cardiff, Chichester, and Leeds.