Asylum seekers in hotel targeted by rioters put under curfew as security increased

Asylum seekers living in a Merseyside hotel that was targeted by violent protesters have been put under a daytime curfew, The Independent understands.

Restrictions at the Suites Hotel, in Knowsley, are part of a range of intensified safety measures put in place after disorder that saw officers injured and a police van set ablaze on Friday night.

Some residents are also being given “security awareness training”, but the hotel won’t be evacuated by the Home Office, despite a continuing online frenzy stoked by far-right groups.

Merseyside Police have imposed a dispersal order around the hotel, which will expire on Friday, giving officers additional powers to stop further protests and disruption.

The force said extra patrols were being carried out in the area, while it continues to investigate the 15 people arrested so far in relation to the disorder.

The Independent understands that people who can stay with friends or family are being allowed to leave the Suites Hotel temporarily, as long as they provide proof of address and meet set conditions until the situation is resolved.

Vulnerable asylum seekers may be able to make legal applications to the Home Office arguing that it is not a suitable place for them to live.

Charities have said that people they support in the hotel have struggled to sleep since the incident and felt unsafe, with many asking to be moved out of the area.

“We met people from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Iraq – these are some of the most dangerous places in the world,” a Care4Calais spokesperson said.

“Their homes have been bombed, villages ransacked. Their children have been persecuted, some have been horribly tortured. They came here to ask for our help, believing the UK to be a place of sanctuary.”

Far-right group Britain First said it had “visited” more hotels housing small-boat migrants, including one in Yorkshire, on Tuesday, and that numerous protests had been called elsewhere.

Posts advertising the demonstrations on informal anti-migrant Facebook groups included slogans such as “England for the English, stop white genocide” and “Protect our women”.

The areas to be targeted over the coming weeks include Rotherham, Skegness and Newquay.

Friday’s protest in Knowsley was called after a video showing a teenage girl being harassed by an older man was linked, without proof, to the Suites Hotel.

Witnesses said the demonstration was initially peaceful and involved local people, including women and children, but turned violent when a mob armed with fireworks and hammers arrived.

The following hours saw missiles thrown at officers and a police van smashed and set on fire, while pro-refugee protesters were held in the hotel car park for their own safety.

Merseyside Police said they were still investigating the video footage, which was amplified by far-right extremists, and condemned the “speculation, misinformation and rumour” being circulated online.

Superintendent Karl Baldwin, from Knowsley Local Policing, said: “We know people are concerned, but much of that concern is based on misinformation and rumour. There is no excuse for resorting to violence.”

He urged anyone with information about the footage of the teenage girl, which is believed to have been recorded in Kirkby on 6 February, to contact police.

The disorder came months after a far-right terror attack targeting small-boat migrants, in which a man firebombed a processing centre in Dover.

English Channel crossings have become the subject of intense focus for extremist groups, with many presenting them as an “invasion”. Groups have been finding and filming hotels housing asylum seekers regularly since 2020, while lists have been distributed across social media.

The government is currently accommodating around 45,000 asylum seekers in hotels, at a cost of at least £7m a day, because of a shortage of proper accommodation coupled with the pressure caused by last year’s rise in small-boat crossings.

A record backlog of asylum cases has built up, with more than 143,000 people awaiting initial decisions on their claims, because the Home Office is trying to declare applications from small-boat migrants “inadmissible” rather than processing them fully.

An EU transfer mechanism was lost during Brexit, and with the Rwanda scheme stalled, there are few countries to which asylum seekers can be deported.

The Home Office said it could not comment on the security arrangements for particular hotels, but that all had security staff on site, and arrangements were continually reviewed.

A spokesperson added: “The scenes outside the hotel and violence toward police officers last week by a group of people in Merseyside were totally unacceptable. We are working closely with Merseyside Police and partners on the ground to ensure the safety of those in our care and the wider community.”