An MP has said he 'will do everything he possibly can' on concerns over asylum seekers being housed in hotels at a tourist destination. Matt Warman, the Tory MP for Skegness and Boston, has said he and the area's council is firmly focused on tackling the issues around refugees being put up in seaside Skegness hotels.
Councillors from East Lindsey District Council have threatened legal action in response to the Home Office's "unlawful" renting of five hotels to accommodate migrants, as per a pre-action letter sent to the Government reported on by Lincolnshire Live. Council leader Cllr Craig Leyland said it was "time to draw a line in the sand" and Mr Warman, 41, has backed the council's move, after previously saying the situation was "wholly unacceptable".
He said: "It's important that when people's elected representatives, whether it's the council or whether it's me, stand up and say things, they mean it and they're going to follow up. If that means following this up in court, then that's what we're going to do."
Read more: Council taking legal action over asylum seekers put up in Skegness hotels
The London-born MP was criticised during a town meeting in November, where residents voiced their upset over the temporary closure of the five hotels in the tourism hot spot. He said: "I said at the public meeting that I didn't think it was acceptable to have hotels in Skegness used for this purpose and we would do everything we possibly could to make sure it didn't continue happening. But I couldn't make any promises that I could stop it.
"What I hope this demonstrates is that we are genuinely using every single possible avenue to make sure that people seeking asylum are housed in the right place for them and the right place for the communities. It's a big step forward, I hope, in making sure the situation improves."
However, Mr Warman felt there was still "misinformation" circulating about the limits of the Government in handling migrants who arrive on the UK's shores. He said: "I think that it's important that people like me are honest with those people.
"We're not accepting people from this route and inadvertently encouraging small-boat crossing intentionally. What we are doing is trying to stop it in every possible way.
"But we can't legally turn them around when they're in a dinghy halfway across the Channel." He has previously described the situation in Skegness as the result of the country's immigration system "creaking at the seams".
He explained the council's actions would not address the "fundamental issues" of the speed at which migrants are processed, the number of people coming to the UK "via illegal routes", and where they are sent upon arrival. A spokesperson for the Home Office has said that the number of asylum seekers arriving and requiring accommodation in the UK has reached record levels, placing "unprecedented pressures" on the system.
They added: "The Home Office and partners identify sites for accommodation based on whether they are safe and available. While we accept that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation, and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation during this challenging time."
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