22 February 2023 , 19:00
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Callous Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said tensions over asylum seekers in hotels is "understandable" and said it was wrong to brand rioters "racist and bigoted".
Ms Braverman, who is under pressure from all sides to get a grip on the Home Office's catastrophic failure to stop dangerous journeys across the Channel, spoke out after clashes across the country.
She said violence was "never acceptable", but continued "we are all frustrated with the situation" and it is not "racist or bigoted" to acknowledge the problems caused to communities.
Delays in processing applications mean thousands of asylum seekers - many of who have no safe legal routes to the UK - are being housed in hotels across the country.
Far-right protesters have gathered in recent weeks in Knowsley, Merseyside and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where they have clashed with counter-demonstrators.
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There have been violent clashes outside hotels in recent weeks, including in Knowsley (Liverpool Echo)Parliament this week heard calls for groups like Patriotic Alternative and Britain First to be banned after stirring up tensions following the Knowsley violence.
Asked if she supported the protesters, Ms Braverman told GB News: "I very much understand people's frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers."
She continued: "Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms.
"And it's clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels.
"And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable."
The government faces calls to address small boat crossings (AFP via Getty Images)Ahead of a demonstration planned outside a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall later this month, the county council leader Linda Taylor branded the protesters "racist and bigoted".
Labour MP Sir George Howarth, who represents Knowsley, called for a firmer hand against groups that incite hatred - and social media sites that let them do so.
He told the Commons: "This isn't typical of the people of Knowsley or Kirby who are not bigoted, racist or unwelcoming.
"I do have concerns about the involvement of far-right groups from outside of Knowsley such as Patriotic Alternative, Yorkshire Rose and Britain First in promoting that event and seeking to stir up racial hatred in our country."
But Ms Braverman said: "It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted."
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The Government is trying to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers, including empty holiday parks, former student halls or disused military barracks.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Rishi Sunak said the Home Secretary would make a "formal update" in the coming weeks on progress in finding alternatives to hotels.
The Home Secretary pledged to do "whatever it takes" to put in place a system to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats - including the possibility of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
"At this stage, nothing's ruled out," she said.
"We need to ensure that we fix this problem of illegal migration. That's my priority and as the Prime Minister himself has said, he'll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
"We've had 45,000 people last year arrive here illegally on small boats. That situation is unacceptable.
"We need to design a robust framework. We need to have a deterrent so people stop making the journey in the first place. And we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that we can deliver that."