Migrant hotel crisis causing understandable tension, Suella Braverman says

Not 'racist or bigoted' to acknowledge problems the migrant crisis is causing in communities, Home Secretary says

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives at 10 Downing Street to attend a cabinet meeting. EPA

Housing asylum seekers in hotels is causing “understandable tensions”, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said, following ugly clashes between protesters.

Violence was “never acceptable” but “we are all frustrated with the situation” and it is not “racist or bigoted” to acknowledge the problems caused to communities, the Home Secretary added.

In recent weeks, anti-migrant protesters have gathered outside hotels in Knowsley, Merseyside and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where they have clashed with counter-demonstrators.

Asked if she supported the protesters, Ms Braverman said she understood people’s frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers.

“Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms,” Ms Braverman said in an interview with GB News.

“And it’s clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels.

“And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable.”

Migrants at immigration processing centre in Manston — in pictures

A person gestures through a fence at the immigration processing centre in Manston, Kent in southern England. Reuters

Security staff work to cover the view of people thought to be migrants in the Manston centre. PA

An aerial view of the facility in Manston. PA

Seven hundred people were moved to the centre for safety reasons after incendiary devices were thrown at a Border Force migrant centre in Dover on Sunday. Reuters

A man holds up a baby in the immigration processing centre. Reuters

A woman at the Manston centre. Reuters

A tent inside the processing centre. Reuters

The entrance to the Manston immigration holding facility. AP

Before a demonstration planned outside a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, later this month, the county council leader Linda Taylor branded the protesters “racist and bigoted”.

But Ms Braverman said: “It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted.”

The government is trying to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers, including empty holiday parks, former student halls or disused military barracks.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak said the Home Secretary would make a “formal update” in the coming weeks on progress in finding alternatives to hotels.

The Home Secretary pledged to do “whatever it takes” to put in place a system to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats — including the possibility of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.

Migrant crossings on the English Channel surge amid heatwave — in pictures

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel from northern Europe has reached record-breaking figures as people in Britain are experiencing an exceptionally hot summer. PA

A lady carries a toddler to a bus after a group of people thought to be migrants were brought in to Dover, Kent, on the south-east English coast. PA

A group of migrants are brought in to Ramsgate, Kent, on August 1 - the day on which almost 700 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK in a single day, a record for the year so far. PA

It was only the second time in 2022 that the daily figure has topped 600. PA

A woman carries a newborn baby in a life cradle as she is brought in to Dover on a Border Force vessel in July. PA

About 3,683 migrants made the crossing on 90 boats in July, the highest monthly total this year. PA

A warehouse in Dover for boats used by people trying to cross the Channel. PA

Migrants hold up an inflatable boat before attempting to cross the Channel to Britain, near the northern French city of Gravelines, in July. AFP

A police officer stands guard on the beach at Dungeness, England, as migrants get off a lifeboat after they were picked up at sea in June. AFP

A group of people thought to be migrants walk up the beach after being brought in to Dungeness in May. AP

Migrants on the beach at Dungeness, after crossing the English Channel in an inflatable dinghy in January. Reuters

“At this stage, nothing’s ruled out,” she said.

“We need to ensure that we fix this problem of illegal migration. That’s my priority and as the Prime Minister himself has said, he’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

“We’ve had 45,000 people last year arrive here illegally on small boats. That situation is unacceptable.

“We need to design a robust framework. We need to have a deterrent so people stop making the journey in the first place. And we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that we can deliver that.”

Afghan migrant documents dangerous journey across Channel — video

During the same interview, Mrs Braverman played down suggestions she could resign amid concerns among some Tory MPs that Mr Sunak is conceding too much ground to the EU in talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Ms Braverman, who quit as a minister in Theresa May’s government over her Brexit deal, said she was confident Mr Sunak was committed to safeguarding Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.

Her comments came amid reports that some ministers are prepared to walk away if they consider Mr Sunak has given away too much to secure a deal with Brussels.

“I don’t think we need to be talking about resignation,” Ms Braverman told GB News.

“I’ve taken a very forthright position in the past because I’ve found the terms of previous agreements intolerable.

“I don’t support selling out on Northern Ireland and allowing the EU a foothold in the United Kingdom.

“It’s absolutely vital we safeguard what we’ve gained from the Brexit vote, that we go forward as a United Kingdom where the integrity of our union is safeguarded and we properly take back control.

“I know the Prime Minister shares that objective.”

Ms Braverman denied Mr Sunak had abandoned legislation going through Parliament to enable ministers unilaterally to override the protocol — a measure she has described as an “important tool” in negotiations with the EU.

“That’s not my perception. I know that the Prime Minister is absolutely committed to resolving this issue, regardless of the implications,” she said.

Her comments came as Downing Street indicated the government would not drop the Protocol Bill — currently paused in the House of Lords — unless there was a new agreement with the EU.

“It is a long-standing position of the government that we want to resolve the issues in partnership with the EU by negotiation rather than legislate domestically,” the Prime Minister’s press secretary said.

“In the absence of that negotiated solution, the Protocol Bill is an important piece of legislation to ensure we safeguard Northern Ireland’s position in the Union.”

In her interview, Ms Braverman said the government was committed to working with the Democratic Unionist Party, which is refusing to return to power-sharing in the Stormont Assembly unless there is a fundamental change to the protocol.

“We have always worked very closely with the DUP. They are unionists. They speak for a significant portion of the community in Northern Ireland and they need to be around the table,” she said.

“Ultimately Stormont will only function if the DUP supports any proposal.”