Dudley sees hundreds protest over asylum seekers in hotels
A BBC reporter at the scene said there were about 200 anti-immigration protesters, many with union flags, and about 20 or 30 counter-protesters, some with Palestine flags. He said there were a few scuffles with police that quickly died down.The protest later moved to the site of a hotel where protesters believed asylum seekers were staying.
West Midlands Police said officers were present at the protest and no arrests were made.A spokesman said there was some temporary traffic disruption and he thanked people for their patience."Our priority is always to keep people safe and in every decision around policing, public order and protests we must balance the right to freedom of expression with the right to tackle crime so we can ensure public safety," he said."The right to peaceful and lawful protest is a fundamental element of any democracy, and we are committed to upholding and facilitating this."
Before the protest took place, Harley claimed that his comments had "probably calmed things down".He said people were "seeing a council taking a tough stance", adding: "They're seeing Dudley Council does not have the same issues with asylum seekers in lots of hotels as other authorities do – we only have one in the authority."
He said people were entitled to protest and were "very angry" about the issue.Harley said: "This is an issue that is very emotive, so I can understand why people want to protest."What we don't want to see is people breaking the law, damaging property, making threats and really not bringing a good look to our borough."What we want is a peaceful protest and if people can come and protest in a very peaceful and lawlike manner, then I welcome people making their feelings well-known."But it has to be a peaceful protest and not the scenes we've seen in other parts of the UK recently."
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