Police are braced for a weekend of disruption after anti-migrant protesters and counter-demonstrators faced off outside asylum seeker hotels across the country today.
Crowds waving Union Jacks and St George’s flags gathered in Portsmouth, Orpington, Leicester, Chichester, Ashford and Cardiff, where they clashed verbally with Stand Up To Racism activists staging counter-rallies.
Officers from several forces deployed in large numbers to keep the groups apart as chants of “Send them home” were met with “Refugees are welcome here” across city centres and outside hotel sites.
30 hotels expected to face protests
Up to 30 migrant accommodation sites are expected to be targeted by demonstrations over the Bank Holiday weekend, following a landmark High Court ruling ordering the closure of the Bell Hotel in Epping.
That judgment came after weeks of local protests and the arrest of a resident charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl — an allegation he denies.
Hotels in Cannock and Tamworth are among those now braced for protests, while anti-racism campaigners have confirmed counter-demonstrations in at least 15 locations.
Voices from both sides
In Portsmouth, one demonstrator tied a giant flag of St George to a balcony bearing the words: “Born in England, Live in England, Die in England.”
Police separate crowds
In Orpington, officers formed a barrier between anti-migrant protesters outside the TLK Apartment Hotel and Stand Up To Racism campaigners, as banners declaring “House our own before illegals” faced off against placards reading “Refugees Welcome”.
Similar scenes unfolded in Cardiff, where protesters with Union flags and “Protect Our Children” signs gathered outside the Holiday Inn near Cardiff Airport, and in Chichester, where police arrested one man for refusing to provide details after “acting in an antisocial manner.”
Political fallout
The protests come as the Home Office confirmed it would appeal the Epping ruling, which threatens to collapse Labour’s hotel accommodation programme.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said ministers were committed to closing asylum hotels “as swiftly as possible” in an orderly way.
But Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, called the ruling a “huge victory” and urged communities nationwide to replicate the protests, asking:
“Whose side is this Government on — yours, or the side of young undocumented males coming into Britain?”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of “ignoring the public” by trying to keep migrant hotels open, while Epping Forest Council described the Government’s legal fightback as “deeply disappointing.”
Looking ahead
Police forces now face the challenge of managing three days of protests and counter-protests at hotels housing asylum seekers, with tensions running high after years of flashpoints at sites across the UK.
