From 4h
ago
09.01 BST
Protests
and counter-protests expected at asylum hotels across England
Dozens of
protests outside hotels used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers are
expected over the weekend across England amid mounting tensions over the issue.
Figures
released on Thursday showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers in
hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.
Anti-migrant
protests and counter-demonstrations held by Stand Up to Racism are expected on
Friday outside hotels believed to be used to house asylum seekers, including in
Bournemouth, Cardiff and Leeds, with more expected on Saturday.
Meanwhile,
councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform
UK are investigating whether they could pursue legal challenges against asylum
hotels.
Chris
Philp, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday that people had “every
right” to protest over asylum hotels in their areas. While the number of asylum
seekers rose in Labour’s first year, the new data shows they are still far
below the 2023 peak, when the Conservatives were in government.
Labour
has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this
parliament in 2029.
The home
secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted Labour had taken “crucial steps” in the past
year towards this by cutting the asylum backlog and money spent on the asylum
system, increasing returns of asylum seekers whose applications had failed, and
overhauling appeals.
We will
update this blog with any news from the protests and counter-protests.
Elsewhere, shadow home office minister Katie Lam has been on the morning media
round for Conservatives and Labour mayor Oliver Coppard has been speaking to
reporters about Speciality Steel, a steelworks that has been taken over by the
government in an attempt to save jobs. More on this in a moment.
In other
developments:
David
Lammy has joined 20 other foreign ministers around the world in condemning
Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement on the West Bank, with the Foreign
Office summoning the Israeli ambassador to communicate the government’s
displeasure. The foreign secretary co-signed a joint statement on Thursday
criticising the so-called E1 plan, a 3,400-home settlement that critics say
would divide the West Bank in half.
Protesters
at the next mass demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action will
withhold their details from officers to force en-masse processing at police
stations in an effort to make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone.
On Friday, Defend Our Juries, the pressure group behind the protests, will open
sign-ups for its next demonstration to be held in London on 6 September.
Elon
Musk’s company, Tesla, should have its application to supply energy to UK homes
blocked on national security grounds, Ed Davey has told ministers. The Liberal
Democrat leader argued that giving the electric car manufacturer a foothold in
the British energy market would be “a gravely concerning move considering Elon
Musk’s repeated interference in UK politics”.
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