Protests erupted outside asylum seeker hotels across the UK over the weekend, with demonstrations taking place in major cities including Birmingham, London, and Norwich as communities attempt to replicate a recent legal victory that forced the closure of one such facility.
Weekend Demonstrations
On Sunday, protesters gathered outside the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in Birmingham, many carrying St George’s Cross flags. Demonstrators were observed peering through hotel doors, while one climbed a ladder to hang a flag near the Holiday Inn sign.
In London’s Canary Wharf, police officers maintained a presence at the entrance to the Britannia Hotel, where security guards stood behind barriers blocking the entrance. Approximately 20 protesters gathered across the street with Union flags, holding signs reading “Enough is Enough. Protect our women and girls” and “Tower Hamlets council house homeless Brits first.”
The Canary Wharf hotel has become a focal point for the “Pink Ladies,” a group of female anti-migration protesters who claim to highlight perceived dangers to women and girls from asylum seekers.
In Norwich, demonstrators assembled outside the Brook Hotel, displaying Union and St George’s flags.
Stevenage Incident
At the Ibis Hotel in Stevenage town centre, which has housed asylum seekers since September 2022, a small group of protesters gathered for what they described as a “peaceful protest” for children and the future. Three individuals wearing balaclavas climbed onto the hotel ledge, playing music from speakers while England flags hung from hotel windows. Police dispersed the crowd after 2 PM when the trio refused to come down.
Saturday’s Widespread Action
The weekend’s protests followed more than 30 demonstrations on Saturday organized under the “Abolish Asylum System” banner across towns and cities including Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley, Aberdeen, Perth, and Mold in Wales.
Counter-protests were organized by Stand Up to Racism in several locations including Bristol, Cannock, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wakefield, and Horley. At least 15 arrests were reported across Bristol, Liverpool, and Horley.
Notable Confrontations
In Bristol’s Castle Park, mounted police separated rival groups, with one arrest made of a 37-year-old woman on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
Liverpool saw clashes between UK Independence Party supporters and anti-fascist demonstrators during a “mass deportations march,” resulting in at least 11 arrests.
In Horley, approximately 200 anti-immigration protesters confronted 50 Stand Up to Racism demonstrators outside the Four Points hotel. Three arrests were made for breach of peace and violating a community protection notice. The anti-racism protesters chanted “refugees are welcome here” while facing verbal abuse from the opposing group.
Perth witnessed confrontations between the Abolish Asylum System group and Perth Against Racism counter-protesters outside the Radisson Blu hotel.
Legal Precedent
These protests stem from a recent High Court victory at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where a temporary injunction was granted requiring the removal of asylum seekers by September 12. The case gained attention after an asylum seeker from Ethiopia was charged with attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl, which he denies.
The Government has announced plans to appeal both the High Court’s refusal to allow intervention and the temporary injunction itself. Other local councils are seeking legal advice to pursue similar injunctions for hotels in their areas.
Stevenage Borough Council has also begun investigating alleged planning control breaches at asylum seeker hotels in the town.
Political Response
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has announced plans for mass deportations if he becomes prime minister, including automatic detention of asylum seekers upon arrival and forced deportation to countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea. The proposals also include potential deals with third countries and the use of British overseas territories like Ascension Island.
Farage’s plans would require leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and scrapping the Human Rights Act, followed by legislation preventing small boat arrivals from claiming asylum.
Current System Pressures
Official figures show 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number since records began in 2001. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has acknowledged “completely unacceptable” delays in the appeals process, with failed asylum seekers remaining in the system for years.
Cooper announced an overhaul aimed at creating a system that is “swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place,” stating: “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end.”
The Home Secretary emphasized the government’s determination to “substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels.”
