Refugee charities install safe rooms and relocate amid rise in far-right threats
Half of NGOs and charities supporting people seeking refuge have faced threats, a 'hostile environment' of protest and safety concerns since the riots of 2024, according to research documents seen by the Guardian.
Some heads of the organisations have also received 'credible death threats', a claim supported by police sources. The organisations that were polled support tens of thousands of asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants.
The threats have emerged as Keir Starmer faces a growing clamour from councils to block hotels being used to house asylum seekers through legal action, after a court ruled that more than 100 applicants staying in Essex should be removed.
Data released on Thursday showed the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels had risen by 8% to 32,059 in a year. Despite many people coming from countries known for serious human rights abuses and conflict, rates of asylum being granted to people coming from such countries as Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea, for example, remain low compared with recent years.
The safety concerns set out in the report are so grave that an internal Home Office meeting is due to take place imminently to discuss growing concerns about similar problems.
The organisations have been forced to take radical steps to protect themselves and their clients in recent months, including temporarily closing their physical offices and moving to an online-only service and removing content from their websites including location information.
Coordination with police and other authorities has increased and in some cases officers have installed new CCTV close to refugee organisations so that any attacks or incidents of harassment can be captured on camera.
During the course of the research, multiple organisations reported online threats, trolling, hostile emails and intimidating Facebook posts. Some anti-migrant protesters made video recordings of refugee organisation premises and shared them in far-right online groups, with one NGO named on a far-right hitlist having to close temporarily, while some received harassing phone calls and threatening messages.
One NGO that took part in the survey said: 'We have had to create a safe room where all of us could be contained in the event of an attack while the police arrived.'
'The hostile environment has to be dismantled,' said another. A third added: 'There is concern that the government is parroting far-right lines instead of adopting their own anti-racist stance. This is extremely disappointing.'
The briefing has emerged at a time when the refugee sector is under unprecedented strain. Those working in the field say they have never known things to be so bad and many are now refusing to be quoted publicly for fear of attracting more attacks.
The Charity Commission has taken the step of removing the names of trustees from several charities' websites after the names of trustees for some organisations the Home Office has meetings with about asylum accommodation were released to a far-right influencer by the Home Office after a freedom of information request.
While a spokesperson said it was not possible to comment on individual cases, removing trustee names is highly unusual. According to Charity Commission guidance, it only happens if the commission grants a dispensation: 'We can grant a dispensation if displaying an individual's name could put the relevant person or people in personal physical or mental danger. Dispensations will not be granted automatically.'
One example of the recent hostility targeted at organisations is provided by City of Sanctuary UK, which was falsely accused of grooming schoolchildren for the benefit of adult male asylum seekers. Schools supportive of the organisation carried out an annual arts activity where children make cards to send to refugees around Valentine's Day with the message: 'showing your heart for refugees'.
The event was part of a broader refugees welcome campaign that is symbolised by orange hearts. The children did not sign their names on their cards and the anonymous messages were then passed on to refugees the children will never meet as a generic message of welcome.
The former Conservative education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson has made a complaint to the Charity Commission about the activity, claiming that it is politicised. Far-right activists have accused City of Sanctuary of grooming children for the benefit of adult male asylum seekers.
A spokesperson for City of Sanctuary UK said: 'Our work has been deliberately misrepresented by a dangerous campaign built on false and inflammatory claims. These attacks not only put our staff and the school communities we support at risk, but are part of a wider strategy: to sow division and fuel hostility towards people seeking sanctuary. This is not just an attack on us – it is an attack on the values of compassion, safety and solidarity.'
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: 'Concerns have been raised with us about alleged political activity linked to City of Sanctuary. We are currently assessing the information available to determine if there is a regulatory role for us.'
On Thursday, a series of St George's crosses were painted on pedestrian crossings near a Canary Wharf hotel, where asylum seekers are planned to be housed.
The latest Home Office figures, published on Thursday as part of the usual quarterly immigration statistics, cover Labour's first year in office.
There were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of June, up from 29,585 at the same point a year earlier, when the Conservatives were still in power, but down slightly on the 32,345 figure at the end of March.
For the first time in four years, the asylum applications backlog has fallen below 100,000 people. It is now just above 70,000 cases, relating to almost 91,000 people – down by 18% from a year earlier and its lowest since September 2021.
Epping Forest district council in Essex, which was granted an interim injunction blocking the use of The Bell hotel as asylum accommodation, went from housing 28 asylum seekers in hotels in its area in March this year, to 199 by the end of June.
A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We strongly condemn any form of harassment or intimidation. Anyone who engages in such behaviour can expect to face the full force of the law.'
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