Ministers refuse to share asylum hotel locations with delivery firms
Deliveroo asked Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, and Home Office officials to provide the locations where asylum seekers are being housed in hotels.
It said that it needed this data to enable them to identify and block their courier's accounts being used from these locations.
The efforts to crack down on illegal working came after reports that asylum seekers housed in taxpayer-funded hotels in London, Bournemouth and Manchester were working as delivery riders for Deliveroo, Uber Eats and JustEat within days of arriving in the UK on small boats.
Asylum seekers are banned from working during the first 12 months after lodging their claim, unless a decision is made sooner.
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The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hundreds gather again at Essex asylum hotel in weekend of anti-immigrant protests
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a hotel in Epping on Sunday for the fifth time to protest at the premises being used to house asylum seekers, as protests spread to other hotels over the weekend. A large police presence containing officers from multiple forces restricted contact between anti- and pro-immigrant protesters, with Essex police saying restrictions were necessary after what it described as repeated serious disruption, violence and harm to the community since the first demonstration took place on 13 July. Two men have been charged with public order offences after a protest of about 400 anti-immigration and 250 counter-protesters outside a hotel in Diss on Saturday, Norfolk constabulary said. There was a further protest outside a hotel in Canary Wharf, London, on Sunday, with the number of protesters appearing to be in the low hundreds. The demonstration in Epping, Essex on Sunday – which saw about 300-500 anti-immigrant protesters gather behind metal barriers outside the Bell hotel – was the latest in a series of protests sparked after an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault for allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and is in custody. Protesters wore T-shirts and held up signs with the slogan 'Protect our kids', while others waved England flags. Other flags seen included one for Reform UK, and a white flag with a red cross on a purple square, as seen in America at anti-abortion demonstrations. Counter-protesters held banners including 'Don't let the far right divide us with their hatred and violence', and 'Care for refugees'. They chanted 'Refugees are welcome here' and 'Nazi scum off our streets'. Police said three people were arrested during the peaceful protest, two from the anti-hotel protest group and the other from the counter-protest group. 'I want to thank those who attended for the peaceful nature of both protests,' said Ch Supt Simon Anslow of Essex police. 'I am pleased that today has passed off without incident and I am grateful to our colleagues from other forces for their support.' In a letter sent to the Guardian, asylum-seekers said 'harmful stereotypes' about refugees did not reflect the truth. 'There are some refugees who do not behave respectfully or who do not follow the rules of the host society. But those individuals do not represent all of us,' they said. 'As with any group of people, there are both good and bad – and it is unfair to judge the majority by the actions of a few.' The letter mentioned fleeing persecution and violence. 'We refugees are not here to take advantage of the system. We are here to rebuild our lives, to work, and to contribute,' they wrote, adding: 'This letter is not a plea for sympathy, but a call for understanding and fairness.' Outside the Bell hotel, one local woman, who did not want to be named, said local people had complained about an increase in antisocial incidents since it began housing asylum seekers but felt ignored and unfairly labelled as 'far-right'. 'I'm not saying everyone in any of these hotels is up to no good. I'm not going to judge everyone, but there is no vetting,' she said. 'We won't stop until they start listening and shut this hotel down.' Activists from far-right groups including Homeland, Patriotic Alternative and the neo-Nazi White Vanguard movement have been present at previous protests. On Sunday Kai Stephens, the Norfolk branch organiser for Homeland, held a sign which said: 'Put local people first.' Stephens said: 'Unfortunately, there has to be a certain point where we turn around and say, the British people should be put first, the indigenous British people.' Supporters of the far-right activist Tommy Robinson were also present. Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had said he would attend before changing his mind and saying it would not be helpful to protesters. Wendell Daniel, a former Labour councillor who is now a film-maker for Robinson's Urban Scoop video platform, asked one man if he understood why Robinson had not attended. He responded: 'We're with Tommy all the way.' Other local protesters said that far-right agitators were not welcome. 'It's 100% unhelpful, because it just gives them a message which is not what we're trying to achieve here,' said one man, who did not want to be named. Stand Up to Racism, the group that organised the counter-protest, estimated about 700 people had gone to Epping. Lewis Nielsen, an officer at Stand Up to Racism, said Nigel Farage's Reform UK had emboldened the far right. 'It's a really dangerous situation at the moment because you haven't just got the protest here, you've got other protests coming up around the country,' Nielsen said. 'We stopped the riots last August with these kinds of mobilisations, and that's why we're pleased the one today has been successful.' Joshua Bailey, who said he grew up in Epping, said increasing anti-immigration sentiment had made his non-white friends feel vulnerable and threatened. 'It's very important that we have a positive stance towards refugees, who are people fleeing genuine tragedy and disaster,' he said. He added that he did not agree with chants that labelled protesters as fascists or Nazis. 'There is room for nuance,' he said. 'I'd like to be able to sit down in a pub with someone who had opposing views and be able to speak about it.'
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Is THIS the most overpriced semi-detached in Britain? House hunters stunned after couple put three-bed home on sale for £2M over average asking price... but neighbours say it is worth it
A couple have infuriated house hunters online after listing their home for almost £2million over the average sale price of their street. Residents reacted with 'shock' and 'disbelief' after the ordinary looking property in Hove, East Sussex was put on the market for a staggering £2.5million. The asking price for the smartly presented property has caused consternation among potential buyers who have claimed it is 'overpriced.' They claim that although the red-brick home has a sought-after seaside location, it actually backs onto a block of high rise flats and sits on a busy road which has a high crime rate. The owners - who are in their late 80s - bought the property in East Sussex in 2010 for £750,000 but have now put it on the market for more than three times that amount. According to property experts Purple Bricks, the average cost of a house on the street where the couple are looking to sell is £600k. One resident told MailOnline: 'I'm shocked. It's incredible how much house prices have risen in the last 15 years but I'd never expect a house to be on the market for so much - it's a King's ransom. 'It's unbelievable really. I understand it is in a desirable location but this road is very busy all the time and the back garden looks out over the flats - not exactly a beautiful view.' The house sits just 100 yards from the pebble beach. The elderly couple are understood to be selling it so they can downsize away from the seafront. Hove is a well-heeled and desirable location to live where the average price of a detached house is £846,600. Neighbour Barbara Crafts, said: 'They are a lovely couple but they're getting on. 'Although the house only has three bedrooms it is deceptively large and the bedrooms are huge and have walk-in dressing rooms.' Mrs Crafts, who is in her 70s, who lives in a spacious three-bedroom flat on the street, said: 'Although it looks quite ordinary from the front it is a lovely house and very spacious and they've spent some money doing it up. 'I've lived here for around eight years and my children who live up north are always telling me to sell. They tell me I could buy a fantastic property near them for just a fraction.' The house, which boasts a drive and a garage, also has a study, dining room, sitting room, four bathrooms and an attic games and media room. Rachel Dent, a mother-of-two who lives in a two-bedroom flat on the street, said: 'That is an awful lot of money but that house is like a tardis - it is absolutely massive on the inside. There is 250sqm of living space, which is huge. 'It is deceptive as from the outside it looks like it could be in any street in Britain but it goes back a long away and is really very big. It might not have the wow factor on the outside but the inside is a different story.' The property is immaculately turned out inside with a host of homely fittings Viewers checking the online listing questioned how the 'modest' home could command such a high price. One said: 'Those flats overlooking the back would be an instant no for me even if dirt cheap. Half the house is the master suite. Seems unnecessary.' Another said: '£2.5m is insane money for this. Surely its not worth even close to that. Even at half, it would be steep, no?' Another viewer said: 'How much!? And why does that main bedroom need two dressing rooms and such a huge bathroom?! Should have just made one of the dressing rooms a guest room instead.' Yet another said: 'Faaaaar too of property faces west, back faces east. Front faces a row of guest houses/hotels including a God awful 60's(?) 5 story guest house directly opposite. 'Back faces an 11 story block of flats. So, no privacy and no sunlight in the morning or evening.' It's an ambitious asking price, but not the most audacious in recent memory. Last year, a Russian millionaire who tried to sell a London 'council house' for £3.5m was forced to concede defeat and make a drastic u-turn. The ordinary-looking four-bed suburban property had attracted widespread mockery due to its eye-watering price tag when it was listed last year. But owner Lukov Nikolov refused to bow down claiming the fee was justified because he spent £1.4m renovating the property. When MailOnline visited the house, more than a year after it was put on the market, neighbours revealed the wealthy businessman had been forced 'move in himself' after failing to find a buyer. The house was built in the late 1950s and used by police officers relocating to work in London for the Met Police. But in every other respect it's equivalent to nearby council housing in style and size. Despite being unable to find househunters with deep enough pockets, Mr Nikolov then listed another property on the same road for £3m. One resident told MailOnline: 'He's got another one too, just up the road, which has been on the market for a while. 'The [second property] is huge. It's got a basement, a cinema and all the rest of it. They've probably doubled the square footage. 'I think he probably moves between them.' Mr Nikolov bought the first property for £1.2m in 2015 and began to renovate inside. He was able to dig down and create a new spacious basement 'flooded with natural light', which increased the properties' square footage by a third. The home now deceptively spreads over 3650sq ft of interior space and has four floors as well as its own cinema room, which, in the view of Mr Nikolov justified the £2.3million increase in value. Mr Nikolov's second property was bough for the cheaper fee of £878,000 before renovating it too. Properties in Canonbury sold for an overall average price of £934,290 in the last few years, according to RightMove, with the majority of sales being flats, which sold for an average price of £633,512. Terraced properties sold for an average of £1,659,972, with semi-detached properties fetching £3,873,333 - placing Mr Nikolov's property slightly below average.
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Police launch murder probe after body of woman, in her 20s, found in Batley after supermarket 'robbery'
A murder probe has been launched as a woman's body was found after a supermarket robbery. Police were called to reports of an armed robbery in Asda last night in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Officers arrested a 37-year-old man at the scene on suspicion of murder and seized a knife. West Yorkshire Police said he told them there was a dead woman, in her 20s, at a property in Batley which was later found in Norfolk Street. She is yet to be formally identified. Forensic specialists were seen at the address and streets in the area have been cordoned off as they carried out their investigation. Police have warned that two other people, a man and woman, 'may have come to harm.' as a desperate hunt for the two continues. Detective Chief Inspector Dan Bates said: 'This is clearly a very serious incident, where a young woman has lost her life. Forensic specialists were seen at the address and streets in the area have been cordoned off as they carried out their investigation 'There is a heightened police presence in Dewsbury today as we work to establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident. 'Our immediate priority is to identify and locate the two people and establish whether or not they have come to any harm. 'A murder investigation is also under way [but] we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public at this time.'
