Asylum seekers will be moved out of protest-hit hotel after ban
Mr Justice Eyre ruled in favour of the council, ordering that asylum seekers must be moved out of the hotel by 12 September.
The Home Secretary's last-ditch attempt to block the injunction was dismissed by the judge, despite warnings of similar applications from other councils.
The council argued that the hotel's use was a "very serious problem" and a "danger to school-age students" due to violent protests and alleged sexual assaults at the site.
Somani Hotels Limited, the defendant, plans to appeal the decision, while the Home Office highlighted the acute shortage of asylum accommodation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Family in fear after Tommy Robinson shares video of black man with white granddaughters
A family say their lives have been ruined after a video of a black man and his brother playing in the park with his white granddaughters was shared by Tommy Robinson and weaponised by the far right. Olajuwon Ayeni, a musician from Redcar, North Yorkshire, has been racially abused and falsely labelled a paedophile in the week since the family video was stolen from the TikTok account of his wife, Natalie, who he married five years ago, and shared by extremists online. On Tuesday, the couple's local MP, Anna Turley, was forced to write a letter providing a reference of good character for Ayeni when he was suspended by his management after the online disinformation. 'I'm devastated to receive the email from my management,' Ayeni said. 'Music is my life. My social media will be damaged, my career will be tarnished … but I am determined to show the truth and hopefully clear it up.' He and Natalie say they have been living in fear since being threatened in the street after Robinson shared the video with his 1.4 million followers. The far-right activist wrote on his X account: 'Wtf is even going on here? Where are the parents?!' Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has not removed the video despite numerous replies debunking it and calling for him to delete it. Ayeni and his wife have been scared to leave their house because of threats. 'We haven't gone outside at home, we just can't,' Natalie said. 'Just after it started to go viral, someone in the local pub recognised Olajuwon immediately; we couldn't believe how quick it had spread. We were walking home from shops just streets from our house, and two lads passed us, spun round and said 'I hope you're not them off that video or we're coming back to slash you up'. It's just horrendous. 'Someone was shouting 'paedophile' outside the house the other night, so I rang the police again but they say there's little they can do. It feels a matter of time before something bad happens. We tried to go out yesterday and had to come home.' The impact on Ayeni has been particularly severe. 'I feel I have to sleep with one eye open,' he said. 'I feel unsafe, scared and sad, as mine and my brother's lives have been threatened. Someone said they will seek revenge and I'll never walk again, all for just being in the park with the kids I love on a family day out. It's been twisted by haters and wicked people.' Natalie said: 'The distress this is causing is unreal, it's ruined our lives and there we were, getting on with things, looking after the girls minding our own business and now we are scared to do anything. It's made me quite poorly to be honest and the shares, views and vile comments just keep going. I've had to stop looking. 'We just want people to know the truth,' Natalie added. 'We're a normal family who went to the park with our grandchildren. The lies and racism have turned our lives upside down and continue to do so daily.' Despite reporting threats to police, the family said they had received only limited support. Officers have told them that while personal threats are criminal, sharing the video does not constitute a crime. Cleveland police said they were offering the family all available support and advice. The Redcar and Cleveland local policing superintendent, Emily Harrison, added: 'Cleveland police would also urge social media users to refrain from further sharing either the video or any incorrect information about the people featured.'
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Don't call this racist': row grows over motives behind England flag campaign
'This is NOT racist never has been never will be,' reads the fundraising page of a group calling itself the Wythall Flaggers, which by Tuesday afternoon had raised more than £2,000, mostly in small donations of £5 and £10. 'We have members of the community of all ethnicities and religions stopping by and praising what we are doing so please don't call this racist.' The money, according to the page's organiser, will be used for 'coating the local community in England flags as this is home and we should be patriotic and proud … We need help to cover every street in Wythall with our beautiful St George's cross.' If only all in the Worcestershire village, south of Birmingham, agreed. Footage posted on social media earlier this week claims to show an elderly couple using a ladder to remove the English national flag from a lamp-post in the village. One comment on social media reads: 'Traitors.' Just weeks after many people in England united around its national flag as the country's female football team won the European championships, the cross of St George and the British union jack are being raised again in communities across the country. This time however, it is part of an increasingly organised campaign that claims to be purely about patriotism but which many fear – amid a climate of anti-migrant protests and rising far-right activity – could be much more divisive and dangerous. 'Let's bring back patriotism once and for all,' reads the Facebook page of Operation Raise the Colours, which urges members to post images of the assorted national flags of the four British nations 'being raised around our great towns and cities'. Users from Walsall and Coventry and Redditch have posted images of flags on lamp-posts and painted on mini-roundabouts and folded in piles ready for deployment. 'In case anyone needs flags Temu has them,' wrote one poster. Amazon has a deal on flagpoles, suggested another. A third posted a plea that the union flag be hung the right way up. However anti-racism campaigners say they have concerns about the motivation and timing of the movement. 'We are concerned that the discussion around the English flag and patriotism is giving cover for racism driven by the far right, and – shamefully – by politicians of all shades,' said Lewis Nielsen, anti-fascist officer at Stand Up to Racism. 'We do feel the movement is quite dangerous and comes at a tipping point where the far right is trying to build.' Having apparently grown out of efforts last month in the Birmingham suburbs of Weoley Castle and Northfield, flag-flying has gathered pace in the city and elsewhere, attracting controversy – and wider political and media attention – after the city council said it would remove banners and flags from lamp-posts as part of a plan to upgrade to LED lighting. Flags have been hung in neighbourhoods across the city, with social media posts claiming 'patriotic people' were putting new banners up on lamp-posts as quickly as local authority staff removed them. The council has said it has no policy of removing flags, saying it 'proudly' flew the union flag outside the Council House every day. 'When it comes to items attached to lamp-posts, it is normal council procedure for these to be removed on a regular basis … As has always been the case, people are free to fly or hang flags from their homes or gardens, but we ask that they are not attached to street furniture.' Many self-described patriots remain outraged, however, and the controversy gathered further pace after the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which has been a flashpoint for anti-migrant protests, confirmed this week that it was removing St George flags from lamp-posts. The 12 councils controlled by Reform jointly pledged on Monday that they would not take down union or St George flags, calling them 'symbols of unity and inclusion'. Tower Hamlets council said said: 'While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance.' Asked about the issue on Tuesday, Keir Starmer's official spokesperson said the prime minister was a 'patriot' who believed people should 'absolutely' fly the British and English flags, later clarifying that he was not familiar with events in Birmingham or Tower Hamlets. 'The PM's always been clear about his pride in Britain, reflected in the fact we often have the St George's flag, and other flags, flying in Downing Street.' Meanwhile Operation Raise the Colours has ambitions to spread further. 'Over 800 people in less than 40 hours is impressive and shows people's passion for this,' an admin posted on the group on Tuesday. 'We ideally need to be organising into local Groups and hitting areas en mass [sic].. As many as possible in as little time as possible.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Home Office to return Iraqi migrants to 'deter small boats'
The deal, signed by Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, will set up a formal process to return Iraqis who have arrived in the UK with no right to stay in the country. It comes after an £800,000 deal last year with Baghdad to help the country crack down on smuggling networks and organised crime. Earlier this year, Keir Starmer and Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani agreed to strengthen co-operation on migration. READ MORE: Nigel Farage claims court ruling removing asylum seekers from hotel as 'victory' Jarvis (below) signed the agreement during a visit to the UK by Iraq's deputy foreign minister Faud Hussein. The Home Office said the accord would allow the 'swift' return of "illegal" migrants. Home Office statistics said that since previous deals, the number of Iraqis arriving in the UK by small boat has fallen to 1900 in the year to March 2025, down from 2600 in the previous year. Jarvis said: 'By working together on security, development and migration challenges, we are building stronger relationships that benefit both our countries whilst tackling shared challenges like organised crime and irregular migration.' What is the Home Office's policy on small boat returns? The returns deal is the latest as part of the Home Office's policies to stop small boats crossing the channel. Similar agreements have already been made with Albania and Vietnam since Labour came into power. Another deal with France recently came into force, where people who have arrived over the English Channel from the French coast can be returned to the country. The person will then be exchanged for a "legitimate asylum seeker" in France who can demonstrate a genuine family link to the UK. The number has been capped, but it is hoped it will act as a deterrent to those crossing the Channel. The latest figures from the Home Office showed 116 people arrived aboard two small boats on August 15. Jarvis said: 'This visit reinforces the strength of the UK-Iraq partnership and demonstrates our government's commitment to serious diplomacy that delivers real results. 'As someone who served in Iraq, I understand first-hand the importance of building enduring relationships in the region, and the new agreement we have signed is a testament to the trust and co-operation we've built with our Iraqi counterparts.' READ MORE: How does the UK-France 'one in, one out' asylum deal work? However, the announcement was criticised by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp. He said: 'Over 50,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel in Labour's short time in power, the worst illegal immigration crisis in our history. 'Labour has surrendered our borders, and the consequences are being felt in our communities, from rising crime to shocking cases of rape and sexual assault by recent arrivals. 'Now they boast about a measly returns deal with Iraq, but barely any small boat arrivals are Iraqi, and most would qualify for asylum anyway. It's a sham designed to look tough while crossings keep soaring. 'Labour has scrapped Conservative deterrents and created the conditions for chaos, leaving the British people to foot the bill. Only the Conservatives will stop the crossings and restore control of Britain's borders.'
