Asylum hotel protesters met by counter-demonstrators across UK

Protests over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers have taken place across the UK. Demonstrations occurred in cities including Bristol, Liverpool, and London, as well as in Mold in Wales, Perth in Scotland, and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. In several locations, police intervened to keep opposing groups apart, as anti-racism campaigners organized counter-protests.

The unrest follows a High Court ruling this week that blocked a hotel in Epping, Essex, from accommodating asylum seekers. Some local authorities in England are now considering legal challenges.

In Bristol, police in riot gear and on horseback held several hundred anti-racism protesters apart from smaller groups of anti-migrant demonstrators at Castle Park for nearly two hours. Some tried to push through police lines. Bristol City Council stated it does not plan to challenge the government’s use of hotels for asylum seekers.

In Liverpool, over 400 people attended a UKIP march calling for the deportation of migrants, met by a few hundred counter-protesters from Stand Up To Racism and the Merseyside Anti-Fascist Network. Eleven people were arrested for offenses including being drunk and disorderly, assault, and affray.

Protests also took place in Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Wakefield, Newcastle, and Horley in Surrey. In Scotland, around 150 protesters gathered outside Perth’s Radisson Blu hotel, chanting and holding signs such as “get them out,” while over 200 counter-protesters displayed banners reading “no to racism” and “refugees welcome.”

In Mold, about 300 people protested plans to house asylum seekers in flats above a retail unit, met by around 40 counter-protesters. In County Antrim, roughly 40 people gathered outside a hotel hosting asylum seekers, prompting an investigation by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council into the building’s planning status.

Police have increased deployments over the weekend, using special powers to move crowds. Surrey Police arrested three individuals during a protest outside the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel—two for breach of the peace and one for violating a community protection notice. Officers separated roughly 100 protesters from 30 counter-demonstrators carrying anti-racism signs. More protests are expected across the UK on Sunday.

Saturday’s events are part of a series of recent demonstrations. Last month, crowds protested outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after an asylum seeker at the hotel was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Following this, the High Court granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction preventing people from being housed there, citing breaches of local planning controls and public safety risks. The government is seeking the right to appeal.

The UK has a legal obligation to provide housing for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while awaiting a decision on their claim. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated the government aims to close all asylum hotels but must do so in a “properly managed way.” Government figures released Thursday show 32,059 asylum seekers are currently housed in hotels, an 8% increase since Labour came to power, though lower than the 2023 peak.