Protestors gathered outside a hotel on the Nottinghamshire border opposing its housing of asylum seekers were outnumbered by those saying the UK should welcome them. A demonstration had been organised for 12pm on Saturday (February 25) outside the Novotel in Long Eaton, which was taken over by the Home Office last October.
But after hearing about the protest, groups - including Open Nottingham - organised a counter-demonstration which took place from 11am. Those taking part in the counter-demonstration numbered around 100 at one stage, with one of the speakers addressing the assembled crowd saying: "We were clear from the very start, after what happened in Mansfield, that we were not going to allow asylum seekers and refugees to be harassed by anyone."
The incident in Mansfield being referred to took place outside the town's Midland Hotel on February 4, where people gathered directly outside the doors of the hotel to protest against its accommodation of migrants. Protests against the Government's use of hotels for asylum seekers have been taking place across the country in recent weeks.
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A protest in Merseyside on February 10 saw a police van being set alight and stones thrown. Protests are also taking place in Skegness, with some hoteliers in the seaside town installing fencing outside their buildings ahead of the demonstrations.
The latest publicly available data shows there are currently more than 45,500 asylum seekers in UK hotels. One of them is 36-year-old Hange Kautjiziua, who is currently staying in a Derby hotel after having travelled to the UK last June from his home country of Namibia.
Mr Kautjiziua said he joined the counter-demonstration on Saturday to show solidarity with the asylum seekers living in the Novotel. He said: "I heard people were coming here today to show solidarity and I wanted to come too because I know what it is like.
"It is already difficult as it is moving to a new country and when you arrive and think you have a place, to then be moved somewhere else just brings back all those emotions of travelling. I came here through Pakistan and Turkey and to arrive here and then have some people saying 'we don't want you', it's a horrible feeling.
"I'm here today to show solidarity, but also to thank the UK for the way they have treated me. I hope eventually to settle here."
Those protesting against the housing of asylum seekers began arriving just after 11am and around 50 were eventually standing on the opposite side of the road to the counter-demonstrators, who had based themselves at the gates to the Novotel. One of the asylum seeker protestors acknowledged that the turnout on their side had been "disappointing" and claimed social media had "shut them down."
Among those protesting was Gary Clarke, 47, from Ilkeston, who said: "I'm not happy when my 80-year-old mum is struggling, having paid into the system her entire life, but then we're letting people have a roof over their head, food and warmth for nothing." A 51-year-old man from Ilkeston, who did not want to be named, said: "This is nothing at all to do with racism, it's all about the tax system.
"Our taxes are paying for all these hotels while we've got the NHS in an absolute state and a cost of living crisis. There has to be a limitation on things like this and at the moment, our taxes are just going to the wrong places."
Latest Home Office data shows the housing of asylum seekers in hotels is costing UK taxpayers around £5.6 million a day. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that for the year ending June 2022, an estimated 504,000 more people came to the UK than left last year - the highest net migration figure ever recorded.
The ONS says factors including the war in Ukraine, specific schemes for people from Afghanistan and Hong Kong and the first full period following transition from the EU all contributed to the figure. A backlog in the processing of asylum cases has also built up, with Rishi Sunak pledging to clear this by the end of the year.
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Downing Street later said that this only applied to claims made before June. Asylum seekers are those who have fled their country and are seeking protection, but who have not yet been legally recognised as a refugee and who are waiting for a decision on their claim.
But in regards to people's frustrations with the Government's policies on immigration, counter-demonstrator Adam Turner, 42, from Nottingham, said: "If people have got a problem with how the Government is processing migrants and refugees, and having to place them in hotels, they should take that up with the Government. They shouldn't be harassing people who are already vulnerable."
Holly Tea, 35, also from Nottingham, said: "I heard there was going to be direct action outside a hotel housing asylum seekers and just thought it was completely unnecessary. The Government should be communicating clearly with the public on what is happening, because it is the lack of information that is currently dividing communities.
"A fear of the unknown seems to come across a lot from those who are against this and if the Government communicated with the public more clearly, I think it would help the situation." There was a small police presence outside the Novotel throughout the protests on Saturday, which both ended without any major incidents.
Those protesting against the housing of asylum seekers had mostly left the area by 1.30pm, with both sides of the debate having all eventually cleared the scene by 2pm. The Home Office previously said in a statement following the protest in Mansfield: "The welfare of asylum seekers in our care is of the utmost importance and any attempts to fuel resentment towards them are completely unacceptable.
"Whenever we seek to use sites for asylum accommodation, we engage with the local police and other stakeholders to identify any community tensions. We continually review the security at asylum accommodation sites with providers."
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