Asylum seekers ‘gambling away tax-payer funded cash cards' meant for food and clothing ‘on slot machines and casinos'

The Sun

2 days ago

OVER 6,000 asylum seekers have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos.
Pre-paid cards given out to pay for basics including food and clothing are being used in gambling venues, Home Office data reveals.
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While attempts to gamble online using the cards had been made, they were blocked each time so they were forced to use them in physical sites, as reported by PoliticsHome.
This is because they can only be activated by using the chip and pin.
There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told PoliticsHome: 'It is shocking that over 6,000 illegal immigrants have attempted to use hard-working British taxpayers' money to gamble.
"They have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe, and no one needs to flee from there.
'The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels, and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling.
"These illegal immigrants clearly don't need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades.'
When asylum seekers are placed in fully catered hotels, the ASPEN card is loaded with roughly £9.95 per week.
Meanwhile, in self-catered set ups, they are given around £49.18 per week.
Data revealed, 227 migrants successfully used the cards to gamble in a week in November last year.
Farage fury as cops admit ESCORTING pro-migrant protesters to Essex asylum hotel
This month, were 40 incidents is the lowest recorded amount in one week.
It is understood the Home Office is working on a solution to prevent this happening.
Prepaid Financial Services and the Home Office have been contacted for comment.
This comes as we revealed how migrants suspected of illegally working as delivery drivers were nicked by the Home Office yesterday.
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The raid was sparked after the Government gave out the locations of asylum hotels.
We revealed how platforms like Just Eat and Deliveroo would be able to block users from taking orders at known asylum accommodation sites.
Yesterday Immigration Enforcement officers questioned a number of delivery riders in Wood Green, North London, where at least one man was detained.
A photo shows officers talking to the men, including some wearing Just Eat uniforms.
One rider suspected of working illegally, who was wearing a beige t-shirt, was searched and placed in the back of a van.
And just two weeks ago, there was another Immigration Enforcement raid on the Thistle City Hotel in Islington, Central London, which had been used as a hub for illicit gig economy jobs.
When The Sun returned to the hotel on Tuesday we found delivery rider bags and e-bikes were still parked in a fenced-off enclosure outside the three-star hotel.
And we saw a steady stream of riders coming and going despite pledges by the Home Office to crack down.
Outrage was also sparked this week after workers were spotted hauling beds into a posh London hotel that is set to house hundreds of asylum seekers.
Labourers wheeled in the new furniture at the four-star Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf this morning, following an anti-migrant protest outside the property last night.
Around 150 activists had surrounded the hotel - in London's eastern financial centre - last night after false reports claimed asylum seekers were being transferred there from another migrant hotel in Epping.
The rumours, circulated on X by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, claimed migrants would be moved from The Bell Hotel in Epping to the Canary Wharf building.
While the Home Office later debunked these claims, it has been revealed that the hotel - where rooms cost up to £460 a night - will be repurposed as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
A spokesman for the Tower Hamlets Council said: 'We are aware of the Government's decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
'It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel.
'We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place.'
It has been confirmed that no asylum seekers are currently living there - the Home Office reserves beds in empty hotel rooms in case of a surge in crossings over the summer period.
Home Office sources revealed to The Sun that the average cost per night for a hotel room for a migrant is now £118.87, down from £162.16 in March 2023.
Housing asylum seekers in hotels costs the taxpayer £5.77million a day.
Some 23,534 migrants have already arrived on small boats this year — 48 per cent higher than this time in 2024.
GROWING UNREST
Chaos was sparked outside the hotel in Epping last week after an asylum seeker appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
The unrest saw yobs launching themselves on riot vans, smashing windshields and ripping off wingmirrors in senseless displays of "hooliganism".
One thug was even run over while attempting to stop a police van gaining access to the hotel.
Another man had his teeth knocked out after riot cops smashed a shield into his face in a brutal clash.
Cops arrested two men, aged 36, and 47, on suspicion of violent disorder under Section 2 of the Public Order Act.
A 51-year-old has also now been charged with violent disorder.
A 34-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of breaching Section 60AA of the Public Order Act.
Meanwhile, two teens aged 17 and 16, were also arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and going equipped to cause criminal damage, respectively.
The force confirmed eight officers were injured in the clashes.
The protest was sparked by a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker who was arrested and later charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who had been living at the Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, denies sexual assault.
He appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday, July 10, where he denied all charges.
His arrest led to multiple protests in the region, culminating in the violent clashes.
Since tensions reached boiling point, violent demonstrations have cost the force £100,000.
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