Mass protests planned across Britain against housing migrants in hotels
Asylum hotels across the UK are reportedly facing a wave of anti-immigration protests this weekend.
Dozens of demonstrations targetting hotels housing migrants and asylum seekers were being organised on Thursday, The Times has reported.
At least 27 protests have been confirmed following a landmark court decision after a council in Essex was granted an injunction to stop a local hotel housing asylum seekers.
The Bell Hotel in Epping had been at the centre of a series of protests over a number of weeks.
Campaigners in other areas are now preparing to use the landmark decision to press for similar outcomes.
Anti-racism groups are preparing counter-demonstrations, warning that towns and cities could see the most unrest since last summer’s riots.
News of the planning of such protests comes following the revelation a record 111,000 people had claimed asylum in Starmer’s first year as prime minister.
Home Office figures have revealed the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels rose 8% in the past year.
Home Office spending on asylum in the UK stood at £4.76 billion in 2024/25, down 12% from a record £5.38 billion in 2023/24, Government figures show.
The figures, released on Thursday, reveal the total costs linked to housing asylum seekers, with data showing a total of 32,059 were housed in hotels in the 12 months since June 2024.
The total covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other migration and borders activity.
It does not include costs relating to the interception of migrants who travel to the UK across the English Channel in small boats.
The figure for 2024/25, £4.76 billion, is more than three times the equivalent amount in 2020/21 (£1.34 billion) and is more than 10 times the total a decade ago in 2014/15 (£0.47 billion).
The Bell Hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Protests began peacefully in the town, but quickly turned violent after far-right agitators became involved, including men with links to neo-nazi parties in the UK.
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