Anti-immigration demonstrators have been met with anti-racism campaigners in Portsmouth as a weekend of planned protests begins.
Police enforced a gap between the two groups as the anti-immigrant group chanted “Send them home” while the counter group chanted: “Refugees are welcome here” on Friday afternoon.
There has been a surge in protests against the use of such hotels since demonstration at The Bell Hotel in Epping earlier this summer.
Following the release of new migration figures on Thursday, more have been planned over the weekend.
Stand Up to Racism has co-ordinated counter-protests at almost every site, including seven on Friday.
It comes as a security minister confirmed the government will take steps to challenge the High Court’s decision to prevent people seeking asylum from being housed in a hotel in Epping.
Dan Jarvis said that the Home Office will appeal against the High Court’s refusal to allow it to intervene in the case of The Bell Hotel.
If granted permission to intervene, it will open the way for a wider appeal against a temporary injunction handed down in the case.
Asylum seekers feel ‘hunted’ amid scenes of hate on UK streets
Asylum seekers in hotels feel “hunted” by protests, campaigners said as one Afghan man told of being seen as “an enemy” by the British public after fleeing to the UK for a safer life.
Demonstrations in recent weeks have left some of those seeking asylum feeling “afraid to go outside”, according to Asylum Matters, which works with asylum seekers and refugees.
Many feel “hunted” amid scenes of “hate and intimidation on Britain’s streets”, the Freedom from Torture charity said.
A 26-year-old Afghan man who has been living in a hotel in Yorkshire for almost two years, said he is scared of what might happen to him here.
“I feel like nobody likes me, the people of this city don’t want us, but I don’t have any other option. It’s really hit my confidence,” he said.
“Before I used to talk very socially with everyone. Now I’m scared, what if they abuse you, what if they record you? It’s hard. I can’t explain – but this year it has totally changed. People see us as an enemy.”
People at Portsmouth demonstration share their opinions
Protester Mat Silva, 66, a retired car sprayer from Fareham, said: “I am fed up seeing those who come into our country illegally being housed better than our veterans and our OAPs.
“They get free accommodation, gas, electricity, four meals a day, while our veterans are on the street.”
He added: “Look how many millions it’s costing each day – if they are genuine asylum seekers or refugees coming in the right way with passports, then fair enough, it’s nothing to do with racism, it’s about people entering illegally.”
Anti-immigrant protesters face off with counter-demonstrators in Portsmouth
Immigration protesters waving Union flags have faced off with anti-racism demonstrators in Portsmouth city centre.
Police watched as people on each side gathered on the steps outside the council offices in the Hampshire city.
One protester tied a large flag of St George to the balcony which had on it the words “Born in England, Live in England, Die in England”.
The counter protesters also put up a banner, saying “Refugees Welcome, Celebrate Diversity”.
Police enforced a gap between the two groups as the anti-immigrant group chanted “Send them home” while the counter group chanted: “Refugees are welcome here.”
Latest Home Office stats in graphs:
Why are the government appealing the case?
The government’s challenge comes after the High Court granted Epping Forest District Council the temporary injunction on Tuesday that blocked asylum seekers from being housed in the hotel from September 12.
The local authority had sought legal action after the accommodation site had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker was charged with trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl, which he denies.
Before judgment was handed down on Tuesday, barristers for the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, citing the “substantial impact” caused to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers.
They argued moving asylum seekers in the short period would cause “particular acute difficulties” for the Government, but their bid was dismissed.
‘It’s not a piecemeal court decision,’ says Epping Forest councillor
It was Epping Forest District Council’s “job to enforce planning regulations”, Holly Whitbread has said.
Asked about Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s warning that asylum hotels must be closed “in a properly managed way” rather than through “piecemeal court decisions”, the Conservative councillor for Epping West and Rural ward replied: “First of all, it’s not a piecemeal court decision, it’s a decision on a planning point.”
She alleged that “the owner of the hotel is not working within planning law” and said: “Ultimately, as a district council, it’s our job to enforce planning regulations.”
Ms Whitbread, who is also responsible for finance on Epping Forest District Council, added: “The Government keep churning out the line that they’re going to get all the hotels closed by the end of this Parliament. Our community can’t afford to wait another four years.”
She described “numerous incidents” allegedly involving asylum seekers and a “fear that has existed in the community from that”.
Owners of The Bell Hotel in Epping seek to appeal injunction ruling
Following the news that the Home Office will seek to challenge the Epping hotel injunction, lawyers acting for the hotel’s owners have said they will seek to do the same.
In a statement to The Independent, solicitors for Somani Hotels Ltd said: “Somani Hotels Ltd has instructed its solicitors to appeal the injunction order of Mr Justice Eyre. There is no further comment at this time”.
The hotel’s owners had applied to High Court judge Mr Justice Eyre for permission to appeal but were refused. They can now apply for permission directly to the Court of Appeal, as the Home Office have now done.
Why are people seeking asylum in hotels?
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation, known as contingency accommodation, if they are awaiting assessment of their claim or have had a claim approved and there is not enough longer-term accommodation available.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office – which has a legal obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute – can move people to alternatives such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases.
Can the government appeal the Epping hotel injunction?
The Independent’s Social Affairs Correspondent Holly Bancroft reports:
Home Office minister Dan Jarvis has said that the government will seek to appeal an injunction against the use of The Bell Hotel in Epping for housing asylum seekers.
Home Office lawyers have already asked a High Court judge for permission to intervene in the case and were rebuffed.
They were also refused permission by that judge Mr Justice Eyre, to appeal that refusal.
The Home Office will now have to make a separate application direct to the Court of Appeal to challenge Mr Eyre’s decision to keep them out.
However the Court of Appeal has not yet made a decision on this, meaning they could yet be turned away.
Hotel owners Somani Hotels Ltd, who Epping Forest District Council, took to court in the first instance, were also refused permission to appeal the injunction by the High Court judge.
They have yet to say whether they will make a separate application to the Court of Appeal.
Tories say government’s appeal bid ‘completely wrong’
The Home Office’s appeal bid “is completely wrong”, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp has said.
He said: “The Epping Bell Hotel injunction has been a victory for local people, led by a Conservative council working hard for their community.
“This is the difference Conservatives in local government deliver.
“In opposition, Labour worked hand-in-glove with activist lawyers to sabotage Conservative immigration plans. In Government, nothing has changed.
“It is completely wrong that the Labour Government is taking legal action to keep open the Bell Hotel.
“The Government isn’t listening to the public or to the courts.
“Instead of trying to keep illegal immigrants in expensive hotels, the Conservatives would remove all illegal arrivals, put in place a real deterrent and ensure towns like Epping are never put in this position again.”
