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.”

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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.

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“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.”

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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.”