Workers haul beds into posh 4-star London hotel set to house hundreds of asylum seekers – as protesters gather outside
Labourers wheeled in the new furniture at the four-star Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf this morning, following an anti-migrant protest outside the property last night.
6
Workers could be seen carrying mattresses into the Britannia International Hotel this morning
Credit: SelwynPics
6
New beds were also spotted being taken into the hotel
Credit: SelwynPics
6
Anti-migrant protesters outside the building yesterday
Credit: George Cracknell Wright
Around 150 activists had surrounded the hotel - in London's eastern financial centre - last night after false reports claimed asylum seekers were being transferred there from
While the Home Office later confirmed that migrants were not being transferred, it has been revealed that the hotel - where rooms cost up to £460 a night - will be repurposed as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
A spokesman for the Tower Hamlets Council said: 'We are aware of the Government's decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
'It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel.
'We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place.'
This morning, workers were seen wheeling beds and mattresses into the hotel - which has close to 500 rooms.
Some 50 police officers were drafted in to supervise the march on Tuesday, which at times descended into shouting matches with a small counter-protest of five people.
One held a sign reading: 'Safe and legal routes now'.
Most read in The Sun
The small counter-march was eventually escorted away by cops.
Several passing motorists honked their horns in support, though some shouted 'Free Palestine' out their windows.
Among those at the protest yesterday was Reform's chief whip Lee Anderson MP, who said in an online video: 'Absolutely furious. This hotel here… it must cost a couple of hundred quid a night to stay there.
'Most normal people in this country would not be able to afford to come and stay here for a weekend, but we have illegals coming here.'
Stopped by reporters, Mr Anderson insisted he was only passing through the area by chance.
The protest had been sparked by social media rumours that asylum seekers had been moved into the four-star hotel.
It has also been claimed that some tourists had their bookings at the hotel cancelled with little notice.
Rooms at the hotel, the Britannia brand's biggest and flagship residence which opened in 1992, were last night unavailable to book online.
The Home Office said migrants had not been moved from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which was at the centre of
Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper branded yobs, who left
Police vehicles were smashed by yobs who climbed on them and there was damage to the building.
More to follow...
For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Read more on the Irish Sun
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at
6
Bunting bearing the English flag was seen outside the hotel today
Credit: Getty
6
Around 50 police officers were drafted in on Tuesday to supervise the march
Credit: Getty
6
The four-star hotel is located in London's eastern financial district
Credit: Getty
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Keir Starmer promises ‘no more gimmicks' as migrant-returns deal with France kicks in
Britain has promised to begin detaining 'within days' asylum seekers who arrive there illegally on small boats, under a returns deal with France that was ratified this week. The 'one in, one out' deal was agreed last month, but only finalised in recent days. It stipulates that Britain can send a small number of small boat arrivals back to France. However, it must also accept an equal number of migrants sent by the French in the other direction, such as family members of migrants already living in the UK. Yvette Cooper, Britain's home secretary, suggested the first detainees could be sent back to France 'within weeks'. Britain's Labour government has insisted the returns deal with France will act as a deterrent to illegal immigrants. Ms Cooper declined, however, to give an exact timeline on when the first returns would take place, while Britain's home office also would not confirm how many migrants would be sent back to France under the scheme, which will operate on a pilot basis for the next 12 months. It is believed only about 50 a week will be sent back initially. READ MORE The arrival on small boats of illegal immigrants to English shores – many of whom then go on to claim asylum – has been a significant political issue in Britain since 2018. The previous Tory government devised a scheme to send such immigrants on to Rwanda, but this was scrapped by Labour immediately upon winning the election last July. Since then, however, small boat arrivals have soared, putting significant political pressure on prime minister Keir Starmer 's government. Official statistics show about 25,000 have arrived on small boats so far this year, up almost 50 per cent on 2024. Figures released by the home office in recent days show 1,047 arrived on 15 boats on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week alone. Balmy weather in Britain since May has contributed to the rise, due to calmer sea conditions that facilitate more crossings. Britain's government this week announced a further £100 million (€115 million) would be spent on border security, including funding for up to 300 extra National Crime Agency officers to tackle the issue. 'The days of gimmicks and broken promises are over – we will restore order to our borders with the seriousness and competence the British people deserve,' said Mr Starmer. The wider topic of illegal immigration and asylum seekers continues to raise tensions in Britain, a year after an outbreak of race-fuelled riots across England. There were several demonstrations over the weekend in London, Manchester and Newcastle outside hotels that provide accommodation to asylum seekers. Meanwhile, hard-right activists who have demonstrated against immigration continue to draw significant media attention in Britain. Prominent activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson , was released on bail on Tuesday after he was arrested on Monday at Luton airport. He had been sought by UK police last week following the alleged assault of another man at St Pancras train station in London. Mr Yaxley-Lennon released a video on Tuesday in which he alleged he had been the one assailed by a man, who was filmed by a passerby lying on the ground at St Pancras, allegedly following an altercation with Mr Yaxley-Lennon. The activist complained to his social media followers that he can no longer walk the streets of Britain alone. He insisted, however, that he had not fled from Britain after the St Pancras incident, as media had reported, but that his trip abroad had been pre-planned.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Cops accused of ‘cover-up' after failing to reveal men charged with raping girl, 12, are Afghan asylum seekers
Questions mounting over why details were kept a secret 'RAPE' PROBE Cops accused of 'cover-up' after failing to reveal men charged with raping girl, 12, are Afghan asylum seekers COPS have been accused of a "cover-up" after allegedly failing to reveal that men charged with raping a 12-year-old girl are asylum seekers. Two men were charged after a girl was allegedly kidnapped, raped and strangled. 3 Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch with Reform leader Nigel Farage Credit: Facebook / Cllr George Finch 3 Two men were charged after a 12-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, raped and strangled in Nuneaton, Warwickshire Credit: Alamy Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, is accused of raping of the underage girl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on July 22. A second man, Mohammad Kabir, also 23, has been charged with aiding and abetting rape, as well as strangulation and kidnap of the girl. The leader of Warwickshire county council and Reform party politician George Finch claimed there has been a "cover up". He alleged the two men were asylum seekers, and accused the police of hiding this from the public. Mr Finch claimed that the chief executive of the council, Monica Fogarty, told him Kabir was an asylum seeker living in a house of multiple occupancy. He said locals were able to "join the dots together" and came to the same assumption. While police are under no obligation to reveal a suspect's nationality, cops allegedly told local politicians and officials not to reveal it in this case over fears of 'inflaming community tensions', The Times reported. The roads where suspects live are usually named, but in this case were kept secret. An official claimed police feared the area would become a hotbed for protests like those outside a migrant hotel in Epping, Essex, last month. Mr Finch called for the Home Office to remove all asylum seekers living in HMOs in the county. According to The Times, he wrote: "Our local community has had enough of the Home Office breaking planning regulations to turn sections of local communities into unrecognisable, ghetto-like zones. "I am disgusted that one year from the social unrest that we saw in parts of the UK in 2024, the Home Office and police have clearly not learned the lessons from the handling of similar incidents last year." After the tragic killing of three children in Southport, false stories spread online that the culprit Axel Rudakubana was an illegal asylum-seeker. Rudakubana targeted children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class - stabbing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death and injuring 10 others. It unfolded on July 29 as children enjoyed the workshop at a community centre. And the horror did not stop there, with riots tearing through communities due to misinformation online. Migrant hotels became targets as an information vacuum 'allowed disinformation to flourish', with investigators struggling to set the record straight. In the aftermath, The Home Affairs Select Committee called for a review of what police can put into the public domain. Last month, Epping made the headlines after becoming a hotspot for protests outside of asylum seeker hotels. The protest, outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as "scattered incidents of violence" targeting police and property. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown. The Warwickshire assault allegedly unfolded between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Tuesday, July 22. CCTV footage from a nearby doorbell camera appeared to show a man walking with the girl at around 8pm. Cops detained the suspect on Saturday 26, and he was charged the following day. He appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Monday and was remanded in custody. Both defendants will next appear at Warwick Crown Court on August 26. Warwickshire Police said in a statement: 'When something significant happens, we brief these partners and local elected officials on the circumstances of the crime, the investigation, the work being undertaken to arrest those responsible and how local people and partners can help a concerned community. 'Where relevant, sensitive information around locations, details of the crime and policing activity to catch offenders can be shared, with a warning that this is sensitive or confidential information and disclosure by those being briefed could affect future court hearings. 'Once someone is charged with an offence, we follow national guidance. "This guidance does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status.'
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Jenny Maguire: ‘Free Palestine' is everywhere – because everything must be about stopping this horrific genocide
'Free Palestine' seems to be scrawled onto every pub bathroom door in Dublin right now. Whether you're having after-work drinks in a cocktail bar, watching a match in a cosy snug, or just dancing to CMAT in a nightclub – the slogan is never far away.
