The anger was palpable as hundreds of Dunstable residents filed into the town’s historic Priory church on Thursday evening.
There was a meeting to air concerns about the recent arrival of asylum seekers to a popular hotel across the road, but the subjects of the assembly were too terrified to attend and defend themselves.
They had seen a leaflet, widely distributed in the town, by far-right Patriotic Alternative activists bearing an image of asylum seekers in a dinghy. There was another showing the hotel, where they have been moved to by the Home Office, emblazoned with the slogan “You pay Migrants Stay”.
As tensions mount, Hope Not Hate, the organisation that monitors far-right activity, has flagged five anti-migrant demonstrations happening over this weekend – including one in Rotherham promoted by Britain First and Patriotic Alternative.
The Home Office and its contractors increased security inside the hotel ahead of the meeting and advised asylum seekers to stay inside. Several police vans lined up outside the church with groups of officers in hi-vis jackets patrolling the perimeter of the building and its interior.
They were out in force due to concerns there might be a repeat of the violence at disturbances in Knowsley a week ago, when hundreds of anti-migrant protesters demonstrated outside the hotel, with some throwing stones and setting a police van on fire.
It has since been reported the Home Office has imposed a curfew on the hotel for the safety of the asylum seekers, something the department declined to confirm or deny.
At a third hotel outside Leeds, blankets have been draped across windows to prevent far-right protesters from looking at the asylum seekers in the hotel.
On Thursday, the Conservative MP for South-west Bedfordshire, Andrew Selous, addressed the restive audience inside Priory church, branded the far-right leaflets as “inflammatory” and urged the 300 residents who attended the meeting to show kindness to the new arrivals.
But few seemed persuaded by his message.
One speaker said a friend had seen asylum seekers sexually harassing young girls in the town.
“I’m concerned for my children and my grandchildren,” she said.
Selous replied that he had checked these reports with police and asylum seekers had not yet moved into the area at the time of the claims.
Locals also accused the asylum seekers of taking up too many dentist appointments, taking up too much space on the pavement, using money that would otherwise be spent on free TV licences for older people and taking up places on free courses – which appear to be mainly courses teaching the asylum seekers English.
“We don’t know who they are, we don’t know where they come from. They’re not running away from anything,” said one resident.
Patriotic Alternative activist Wesley Russell attended and launched a diatribe against asylum seekers, calling them illegal immigrants who should be forced to buy tickets back to their home countries.
“What you are saying is offensive,” said Selous.
As the anti-migrant rhetoric ramps up, the fear among asylum seekers increases in equal measure. Several told the Guardian they were too scared to go outside.
One asylum seeker at the hotel in Dunstable said: “We are in a dangerous situation. We are at risk and are scared to go outside the hotel. Everyone is in stress. Staff at the hotel said they can protect us inside but not outside. Some of my friends are planning to go to London and be homeless there because we will have more freedom and be safer than we are here.”
After listening to the meeting on a livestream feed, he said: “I can see that most of the community are not happy about us bring here. It is very hard for us to adapt to this environment.”
Local refugee NGOs report trying to provide services inside the hotel instead of at their own premises as they did previously because they feel asylum seekers could be targeted when leaving.
“I fled Syria because of fear of death in my country and now I’m living in fear here,” said one asylum seeker in the Knowsley hotel. “When the protests were happening I felt that some of the protesters were going to break into the hotel.”
Clare Moseley, the founder of the charity Care4Calais who witnessed the disturbances in Knowsley, accused the government of not doing enough to protect asylum seekers.
She said: “Not having documents makes you vulnerable and makes it difficult to stand up for yourself. Intimidating asylum seekers is an act of pure cowardice. We need a government that shows leadership and protects the vulnerable rather than empowering bullies by using damaging and divisive rhetoric.”
A government spokesperson said: “We have a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. All accommodation sites have security staff and we continually review the security at asylum accommodation sites with providers.
