Hotel asylum seekers 'scared to go outside and can't sleep' after violent riot
Asylum seekers housed at a hotel in Merseyside didn't sleep all night and fear for their safety after a violent riot erupted outside, according to a charity founder.
A 13-year-old boy was among 15 people arrested on suspicion of violent disorder after far-right thugs clashed with police on Friday night just yards from the Suites Hotel in Knowsley.
A police van was set alight, while lit fireworks and other missiles were hurled at officers as they desperately worked to stop the mob breaking through their lines.
Clare Moseley, of Care4Calais, was among 120 peaceful counter demonstrators who found themselves cornered in a car park, protected by a makeshift barrier.
She told the Mirror: "They tried to get into the hotel, if they had got in can you even imagine what would have happened?
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"People who would throw bricks at the police, what the hell would they have done if they got hold of an asylum seeker?"
Lit fireworks and other missiles were hurled at officers (Liverpool Echo)
Merseyside Police said 15 people have been arrested (Liverpool Echo)Clare and her colleagues were eventually able to escape by walking in a line behind a single police van as the violence continued.
On Saturday morning they returned to the hotel to speak to the asylum seekers housed there, some had only just arrived when the violence broke out.
Clare said those she spoke to were from Afghanistan, Syria and Iran.
"They are all pretty intimidated, which, unfortunately, was the whole point of it," she explained.
The force said the violence, which has been condemned by politicians, left an officer and two members of the public with slight injuries (Liverpool Echo)"All of them just kept saying to me, 'can you get us moved? Can we go somewhere else? We don’t want to stay here.'
"That was the thing, they kept saying 'we don’t feel safe here'.
"They were saying 'we haven’t done anything wrong here, we didn’t come here to cause any trouble'."
Clare said most of those housed at the hotel are young men under the age of 30 and arrived less than a month ago.
"They are victims of really bad things and they are coming here to escape from these horrible things," she said.
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A police was set alight during the chaos (PA)Care4Calais work to support asylum seekers arriving in the UK with clothes, as well as with registering with doctors and learning English.
Clare said: "It’s really difficult where that hotel is because it’s not near to any residential areas, it’s a bit out of the way.
"It’s hard to get any volunteers out there but we’re going to have to try because they are very isolated.
"They can’t leave the hotel, none of them want to walk down the road.
"I am really not sure they would be safe to walk down the street.
The asylum seekers are living at the Suites Hotel in Knowsley (PA)"They’ve got a really big problem now, they can’t go to the shop or a library or a church or anything. They can’t go anywhere to get any help.
"There’s nothing for them in the hotel so they are in a very bad situation now."
Asked if their living situation now feels like prison, she said: "It really is, for them."
"The problem is there’s a real shortage of hotel accommodation. I think they need to be moved, I don’t see how they can live there after this," she continued.
"They were all saying that they haven’t slept all night, understandably. I hardly slept last night. How can they go about a normal life there?"
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais (Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)Asked how long they can expect to be housed at the hotel, she said: "Sometimes it’s months or even years. It’s ridiculous. The whole asylum system is a big mess at the moment."
Clare said rumours have begun circulating on social media about the asylum seekers, including that one had approached a girl, as well as that a man and woman tried to kidnap a child.
"But all these rumours started after the violence, not before," she explained.
An anti-asylum seeker demonstration was organised before Care4Calais joined a counter protest - however, they were kept separate with a 100 yard gap, Clare said.
Police described how a third group with an intent to cause violence then arrived, some armed with hammers.
"Before, it was advertised as just all people saying 'we need to get these people out of our town'," said Clare, referring to the initial protest.
She said there were some people she and her colleagues spoke to outside the hotel today who were saying they're worried about the asylum seekers, and referred to the rumours.
"One of them said 'it’s just hearsay but we just know'. She actually said 'it’s just hearsay but we just know it'. Basically, these rumours have been created deliberately to stir up hate," she said.
"If you are worried about something like that you report it to the police, you don’t form a mob and go on a violent rampage."
Clare added: "Last night was really suspicious in a number of ways. It was too organised, it was too violent, there was too many people there. You wouldn’t expect it in Liverpool."
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