Latest news with #Clearsprings
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Repeated failings at migrant hotel where asylum seeker killed himself exposed
Staff at an asylum hotel where a resident killed himself were 'not appropriately' trained to deal with vulnerable people, a coroner has ruled. Home Office officials in charge of the hotel contract were also unaware that these crucial workers had been subcontracted out. Colombian migrant Victor Hugo Pereira Vargas, 63, was found dead in his room at Boships Lions Farm hotel in Hailsham, Sussex, on 13 October 2023. He had made a desperate attempt to leave the UK just a few weeks earlier, turning up at Gatwick airport and asking immigration officers to put him on a plane. In the weeks before his death, he had told his son several times that he was afraid of being moved to the Bibby Stockholm barge – describing it as a 'maritime prison' – after fellow hotel residents were allegedly sent there. An inquest into his death heard that senior Home Office officials in charge of asylum accommodation, and the person in charge of managing the relevant hotels contract, had no knowledge about who was actually staffing the hotel. Clearsprings Ready Homes, the private firm that holds the Home Office asylum accommodation contract for the south of England, had subcontracted the running of Mr Pereira Vargas's hotel to another company – Crown Lodge Accommodation Limited. This overall contract is valued at £700 million and is expected to rise to £7bn for the decade up to 2029. Clearsprings make a seven percent profit margin on managing asylum accommodation in the south of England, the spending watchdog recently found. Graham King, founder of Clearsprings Ready Homes, has recently debuted on The Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £1.015 billion. Crown Lodge then outsourced the staffing of the hotel to a third company, Becker Hoffman Facilities Management Limited, without the knowledge of government officials responsible for overseeing Clearsprings' contract. Mr Pereira Vargas came to the UK by plane from Spain on 4 August 2023 and claimed asylum on arrival. He was taken to the Sussex hotel on the same day and had spent a little over nine weeks there before he inflicted fatal wounds on himself. Former residents of the hotel told the inquest they noticed Mr Pereira Vargas becoming increasingly erratic and paranoid during his time there, reporting he would regularly block his door and express concerns about microphones in his clothing. His former roommate was moved to another room after becoming alarmed by Mr Pereira Vargas's behaviour. But these signs were missed by the inadequately trained staff who were tasked with carrying out welfare checks of migrants, the inquest heard. Under its contract with the Home Office, Clearsprings is required to ensure all staff who interact with asylum seekers are trained in areas including safeguarding and suicide awareness. Steven Lakey, Clearsprings' managing director, told the court the company came to rely on subcontractors as an emergency measure to cope with an unforeseen rapid increase in small boat arrivals shortly before the coronavirus pandemic. The court heard that the Home Office and Clearsprings relied on assurances from Crown Lodge that staff were trained. Crown Lodge told the inquest they relied on similar assurances from Becker Hoffman – but did not seek further verification such as copies of certificates. Becker Hoffman's onsite staff – responsible for checking on resident's welfare once a week – were 'not appropriately trained,' the coroner concluded. One staff member, who conducted the final two welfare checks prior to Mr Pereira Vargas's death, had received no formal training whatsoever. This staff member variously recorded that Mr Pereira Vargas had 'no issues' and was 'in good condition,' which contrasted with testimonies from several fellow residents alarmed by his increasing paranoia. Assistant Coroner Michael Spencer expressed doubt as to whether staff really carried out all their checks as described. One welfare check was recorded to have taken place 'face-to-face' with Mr Pereira Vargas on 25 September, despite records showing he left the hotel the previous day in an attempt to flee the UK, and did not return until the 26th. The court was also told hotel staff did not book a mental health GP appointment requested for Mr Pereira Vargas on 11 September, after he told them he had not slept for three days, until two weeks later – although incorrectly logged that they had done so right away. When Mr Pereira Vargas eventually received a text from the GP to arrange an appointment, he responded in Spanish saying he had no mental health issues. The coroner said that 'it is possible these factors cumulatively contributed to [Mr Pereira Vargas's] decline and death', in addition to his experience of trauma in his home country, his sense of isolation at the hotel, and desperation to leave the UK. Had there been better welfare checks and assistance accessing a GP, it is possible Mr Pereira Vargas may have engaged and been given treatment, the coroner said, although this could not be certain. He concluded that Mr Pereira Vargas had died from self-inflicted injuries whilst suffering from extreme anxiety and distress, but that it was not possible to conclude whether he had intended to take his own life. Becky Hart of Bhatt Murphy who acted for Mr Pereira Vargas's family said: 'The Home Office has failed to put in place proactive systems to ensure frontline staff in asylum accommodation have been trained in safeguarding and suicide awareness', adding that this remains 'a real and obvious risk to life.' Dame Karen Bradley, chair of the home affairs select committee, a group of MPs who are currently holding an inquiry into asylum contracts, said: 'We are deeply concerned about what the circumstances of this tragic death reveal around the operation of asylum accommodation contracts. 'These contracts come at great cost to the taxpayer. With that comes an expectation of high standards of support and proper oversight to ensure facilities are run correctly. This applies whether services are subcontracted or not.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'This was a tragic incident and our thoughts are with Mr Vargas' family and friends. The health and safety of asylum seekers is a priority and our providers maintain high standards and follow established standard procedures to manage the safety, security and wellbeing of those we accommodate.' A spokesperson for Crown Lodge said: 'We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred. Out of respect for the individual and their loved ones, we will not be commenting further.' Becker Hoffman has ceased trading and no longer provides Home Office accommodation. A solicitor who acted for them during the inquest said that Mr Pereira Vargas had been seen by GPs who did not detect any cause of concern about his mental health, and Mr Pereira Vargas had also declined help from mental health services. Clearsprings declined to comment. Reporting contributed by Liberty Investigates. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@ or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Britain's migrant hotel ‘king' becomes BILLIONAIRE after fortune soared by £265m, as Sunday Times Rich List released
SUNDAY Times Rich List reveals migrant hotel "king" has become a billionaire. Graham King has amassed a £1.015 billion from his asylum empire it has been revealed. Advertisement 5 Essex tycoon Graham King, 58, has amassed a £1.015 billion from his asylum empire 5 Migrant hotel tycoon Graham King is a keen amateur racing driver. Credit: Tim Stewart 5 King's business started off when he purchased a caravan site Credit: Tim Stewart The tycoon's wealth skyrocketed this year with a massive £265m increase pushing him over the line to become a billionaire. He is now among The Sunday Times Rich List's newest billionaires after only making it onto the list last year. King, 58, is an Essex asylum The company is paid by the home office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. Advertisement Read more News It has a massive £1.7 billion turnover with King's firm raking in almost £4.8 million a day. King now uses his wealth to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his girlfriend and pursues his passion of amateur racing. His fortune reached record highs alongside record high numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK. The number of people claiming asylum climbed from 91,811 in 2023 to 108,138 last year, a record high. Advertisement Most read in The Sun The news comes just after PM Kier Starmer announced a crack down on immigration. King once owned a Clearsprings recent contracts include one with the home office that runs until September 2029. Fury as hotel firm housing asylum seekers in 'all-inclusive resort' paid £700m a year of YOUR money The most recent contract is estimated to be worth a massive £7.3 billion. Advertisement The huge success of King's company has seen his He is now officially a billionaire according to The Sunday Times Rich List. Graham King first made it onto rich list last year, owning 99% of Clearsprings' shares. His wealth has exploded since, catapulting him from the 221st spot on the list to the 154th. Advertisement Home Office contracts to house asylum seekers have been awarded mostly to three companies. King's Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco. Clearsprings provides accommodation mostly in old military barracks, flats and hotels. King, now officially a Advertisement He has made the news for the condition of his properties before with inspectors finding "failures of leadership and planning" in his operations. Asylum seekers were housed by King's company in "decrepit" and "run down" barracks in Kent and King's already massive wealth rose 35% this year which and now sits at £1.015 billion. For the fourth year in a row, Goji Hinduja and family have topped the Sunday Times Rich list, with the investors sharing a net worth of £35.304 billion. Advertisement They suffered a fall of £1.892 billion from last year's survey. The minimum entry level for the list flatlines at £350 million. This year's list marks the largest drop in billionaires in the guide's 37-year history, with just 156 making Advertisement Other celebrities who made the list include Ellen Degeneres, Charlotte Tilbury, Ed Sheeran and Brewdog Founder James Watt. 5 King and his girlfriend frequently holiday together Credit: Tim Stewart 5 Penally Camp in Wales.
Scottish Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Britain's migrant hotel ‘king' becomes BILLIONAIRE after fortune soared by £265m, as Sunday Times Rich List released
Most of his wealth comes from Home Office contracts LIVING LARGE Britain's migrant hotel 'king' becomes BILLIONAIRE after fortune soared by £265m, as Sunday Times Rich List released Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SUNDAY Times Rich List reveals migrant hotel "king" has become a billionaire. Graham King has amassed a £1.015 billion from his asylum empire it has been revealed. 5 Essex tycoon Graham King, 58, has amassed a £1.015 billion from his asylum empire 5 Migrant hotel tycoon Graham King is a keen amateur racing driver. Credit: Tim Stewart 5 King's business started off when he purchased a caravan site Credit: Tim Stewart The tycoon's wealth skyrocketed this year with a massive £265m increase pushing him over the line to become a billionaire. He is now among The Sunday Times Rich List's newest billionaires after only making it onto the list last year. King, 58, is an Essex asylum hotel tycoon who made his impressive fortune through his company Clearsprings Ready Homes. The company is paid by the home office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. It has a massive £1.7 billion turnover with King's firm raking in almost £4.8 million a day. King now uses his wealth to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his girlfriend and pursues his passion of amateur racing. His fortune reached record highs alongside record high numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK. The number of people claiming asylum climbed from 91,811 in 2023 to 108,138 last year, a record high. The news comes just after PM Kier Starmer announced a crack down on immigration. King once owned a caravan park and disco and grew up in Canvey Island, Essex. Clearsprings recent contracts include one with the home office that runs until September 2029. Fury as hotel firm housing asylum seekers in 'all-inclusive resort' paid £700m a year of YOUR money The most recent contract is estimated to be worth a massive £7.3 billion. The huge success of King's company has seen his personal wealth skyrocket. He is now officially a billionaire according to The Sunday Times Rich List. Graham King first made it onto rich list last year, owning 99% of Clearsprings' shares. His wealth has exploded since, catapulting him from the 221st spot on the list to the 154th. Home Office contracts to house asylum seekers have been awarded mostly to three companies. King's Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco. Clearsprings provides accommodation mostly in old military barracks, flats and hotels. King, now officially a billionaire, launched his property empire in 1999. He has made the news for the condition of his properties before with inspectors finding "failures of leadership and planning" in his operations. Asylum seekers were housed by King's company in "decrepit" and "run down" barracks in Kent and Pembrokeshire. King's already massive wealth rose 35% this year which and now sits at £1.015 billion. For the fourth year in a row, Goji Hinduja and family have topped the Sunday Times Rich list, with the investors sharing a net worth of £35.304 billion. The list reveals the country's 350 richest individuals who share a net worth of £772.8 billion, a three per cent decrease from last year. They suffered a fall of £1.892 billion from last year's survey. The minimum entry level for the list flatlines at £350 million. This year's list marks the largest drop in billionaires in the guide's 37-year history, with just 156 making the list compared to its peak of 177 in 2022. Other celebrities who made the list include Ellen Degeneres, Charlotte Tilbury, Ed Sheeran and Brewdog Founder James Watt. 5 King and his girlfriend frequently holiday together Credit: Tim Stewart
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Britain's migrant hotel ‘king' becomes BILLIONAIRE after fortune soared by £265m, as Sunday Times Rich List released
SUNDAY Times Rich List reveals migrant hotel "king" has become a billionaire. Graham King has amassed a £1.015 billion from his asylum empire it has been revealed. The tycoon's wealth skyrocketed this year with a massive £265m increase pushing him over the line to become a billionaire. He is now among The Sunday Times Rich List's newest billionaires after only making it onto the list last year. King, 58, is an Essex asylum hotel tycoon who made his impressive fortune through his company Clearsprings Ready Homes. The company is paid by the home office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. It has a massive £1.7 billion turnover with King's firm raking in almost £4.8 million a day. King now uses his wealth to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his girlfriend and pursues his passion of amateur racing. His fortune reached record highs alongside record high numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK. The number of people claiming asylum climbed from 91,811 in 2023 to 108,138 last year, a record high. The news comes just after PM Kier Starmer announced a crack down on immigration. King once owned a caravan park and disco and grew up in Canvey Island, Essex. Clearsprings recent contracts include one with the home office that runs until September 2029. The most recent contract is estimated to be worth a massive £7.3 billion. The huge success of King's company has seen his personal wealth skyrocket. He is now officially a billionaire according to The Sunday Times Rich List. Graham King first made it onto rich list last year, owning 99% of Clearsprings ' shares. 5 5 5 His wealth has exploded since, catapulting him from the 221st spot on the list to the 154th. Home Office contracts to house asylum seekers have been awarded mostly to three companies. King's Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco. Clearsprings provides accommodation mostly in old military barracks, flats and hotels. Graham King, now officially a billionaire, launched his property empire in 1999. He has made the news for the condition of his properties before with inspectors finding "failures of leadership and planning" in his operations. Asylum seekers were housed by King's company in "decrepit" and "run down" barracks in Kent and Pembrokeshire. King's already massive wealth rose 35% this year which and now sits at £1.015 billion. For the fourth year in a row, Goji Hinduja and family have topped the Sunday Times Rich list, with the investors sharing a net worth of £35.304 billion. They suffered a fall of £1.892 billion from last year's survey. The minimum entry level for the list flatlines at £350 million. Other celebrities who made the list include Ellen Degeneres, Charlotte Tilbury, Ed Sheeran and Brewdog Founder James Watt. 5
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Providers Made Large Profits from Asylum Hotels but Haven't Returned Excess, MPs Told
Asylum housing providers have made higher profits from hotel use than other accommodation types, but have yet to return excess earnings to the taxpayer, MPs have heard. Executives from Clearsprings Ready Homes, Serco, and Mears Group appeared before the The Home Office is responsible for Private companies such as Clearsprings Ready Homes, Serco, and Mears Group deliver these housing services. The UK's asylum system uses two types of housing: dispersed accommodation (DA), which is longer-term housing like shared flats managed by contractors, and contingency accommodation, such as hotels or temporary sites used when standard housing runs short. The financial burden of these arrangements has grown significantly. Related Stories 7/23/2024 9/6/2024 The total cost of the UK's asylum housing contracts is expected to Hotel Dependency Under Fire The committee focused heavily on the continued use of hotels, which now account for 76 percent of annual spending on asylum accommodation, despite housing just 35 percent of people in the system. Liberal Democrat MP Paul Kohler noted that when the migrant accommodation contracts were determined, the assumption would be most of it being dispersed accommodation. 'Vast amounts are now going to far more expensive contingent hotels, the costs are higher. Therefore 7 percent of that higher turnover is a huge bonus to you, isn't it, in comparison to what was assumed to be the case when the contracts were first established?' he said. Steve Lakey, managing director of Clearsprings, admitted that hotels are more profitable than other accommodation types, but insisted they were only ever intended as a temporary solution. 'There is a big push and lots of work to try and reduce the hotels and increase the dispersal accommodation,' he told the committee. This follows the Home Office's pledge Claudia Sturt of Serco and Jason Burt of Mears echoed the view that hotels were introduced under emergency conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and should be phased out. Still, they admitted they remain a key part of the system today owing to ongoing pressures and lack of other available accommodation. The sign outside the Home Office in Westminster, London, on April 29, 2018. Yui Mok/PA Wire Providers Acknowledge Profit Margins Under the UK's asylum accommodation contracts, providers like Clearsprings, Mears, and Serco have a profit-sharing threshold. If their profits exceed the 5percent cap, the excess must be returned to the Home Office. Clearsprings confirmed that its profit margin had reached 6.9 percent and said £32 million was set aside to be returned, pending audit. Mears said it expects to return £13.8 million, also awaiting final clearance, while Serco said it has not yet triggered profit-sharing under its contract. Despite these acknowledgements, MPs criticised the lack of actual payments made to date. 'You haven't paid a pound back into the Home Office,' said Labour MP Shaun Davies. The providers pointed out that the mechanism for paying back is driven by the Home Office, which is still auditing their accounts. Committee members also questioned Clearsprings about the personal wealth of its founder, Graham King, who appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List after a 35 percent rise in his net worth. Lakey declined to comment but emphasised the company's intention to reinvest funds. Regional Disparities MPs also questioned the uneven geographic spread of asylum housing, particularly the concentration in London and the southeast. Lakey explained that the majority of arrivals come into the southeast, mainly through Kent and Croydon intake units, and around airports where they have the most hotel availability. Providers said they must follow Home Office dispersal plans, which limit how many asylum seekers can be housed per capita in each area. They praised European models in countries like Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, where local authorities handle housing and integration, suggesting that such devolved systems are more responsive and effective. According to the latest figures, the number of people accommodated under asylum housing schemes has more than doubled, from around 47,000 in December 2019 to approximately 110,000 in December 2024.
