Latest news with #StandUpToRacism
Daily Record
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
GB news 'breaking' report slams Keir Starmer who 'doesn't stand a chance'
GB News' Thursday morning installment of the show saw Conservative MP Esther McVey describe the current small boats crisis as a 'state' of emergency as she slammed Keir Starmer during her appearance on the breakfast programme. The MP, who represents Tatton, referenced the fact that a people smuggler was let off in France while she explained her case, the Express reports. Discussing the extent of the issue, she said: "You've got a whole host of people who were prepared to do various elements of the smuggling. In this case, it was bringing the boat across... You'd think they would have learned from county lines. "So you've got somebody right down the pecking order. Who's just getting a location, just getting some of the equipment, and he's got sort of a get out, so he is right down (the pecking order)." She added: "So whenever Keir Starmer was talking about smashing the gangs, let's get real, he didn't have a chance. He should have listened to how difficult it is to do drugs now. (The) difficulties to do county lines." McVey continued: " have got to take it into our own control and I've said parliament needs to be recalled. "This is a state of emergency - the numbers for immigration. We need to get everybody back. We've got to agree on what we're getting to do. "Dust down the Rwanda plan immediately, because that's basically what Trump has based his scheme on which has pretty much stopped all of the immigrants coming over the Mexican border, he's got to do that." Britain secured a new agreement with France earlier this month regarding returning migrants who arrive in small boats. A deal was struck for a one in, one out system that would see small boat migrants exchanged for legal asylum seekers. It came after an estimated 22,492 people arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year. This number was up 57% from the same time in 2024 and 71% higher than the year before that. The situation is resulting in public unrest. On the evening of Saturday July 27, protesters butted heads outside a hotel in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, which is housing asylum seekers. Separated by a dual carriageway, Stand Up To Racism protesters came face to face anti-migrant protesters, waving Union Jack flags which read 'Uniting Britain' and 'The Great Britain National Protest'. The protest came after the hotel's owners reportedly agreed to a deal with Serco to give shelter to asylum seekers. It's been a busy week for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was called out by McVey in her GB News speech. Starmer met with US President Donald Trump earlier this week at his Trump Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.
Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Teddy bears and TikTokers: on the Epping front line
Early on Sunday afternoon at the Epping Bean Café, where a cutesy sign hangs from a wall reading 'Coffee makes everything better', a man is enjoying a roast dinner as the staff prepare for violence. Chairs and tables are moved inside, and a tall flagpole for advertising the café, which could be a very effective spear, is removed too. 'Just in case we need to close down,' says a waitress sweetly to the man. Epping isn't used to days like this. The protests started on 13 July, after Hadush Kebatu appeared in court for the first time. Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, had allegedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and a woman in the town. He had been staying in asylum accommodation at the Bell Hotel in Epping along with 140 other men, after crossing the Channel illegally a few weeks before. Many protestors and a few counter-protestors went to the Bell Hotel. Over the next few days, there were more demonstrations, and some people attacked police and their vans; 16 were arrested. More trouble threatens today. A group called Stand Up To Racism is coming to Epping, and Tommy Robinson has said he might attend too, bringing 'thousands' of his supporters with him. Just after 2 p.m., Stand Up To Racism (a few hundred freaky people) assemble in the car park of Epping train station. A fully grown woman sits on the tarmac cuddling a teddy bear – I think she's rocking – and nearby a man stands in fatigues, black boots, sunglasses and a helmet. Quilted war flags mark regiments from the Socialist Workers party, the Homerton hospital branch of Unison and the Queen Mary University arm of the University and College Union. Weyman Bennett, a co-convener of Stand Up To Racism, tells the group that they are about to come face-to-face with 'Nazis' and 'the followers of Mussolini'. A sign in the crowd references Cable Street. They want today to echo in eternity. The opposition is also a few hundred people who are already at the Bell Hotel, standing quite calm in the metal pen allocated to them by police. 'We Are the Champions' plays from a large speaker. There are a couple of guys from the nationalist Homeland party, and perhaps five supporters of Tommy Robinson who have come from the pub up the road, but they are outnumbered by children and babies. Most people are locals. I was at the riots in Ballymena last month: this is not that, and these are not Nazis. 'This is leafy Epping,' says an old woman sitting in a camping chair inside the pen. 'When you start putting outsiders, far-far-away people into that community, it just dissolves the structure. The last five years they've been putting them in the hotel. It's just fell apart. I can't get a doctor's appointment where I am and I've got a lot of illnesses.' She nods at the hotel. 'I see NHS vans pulling up outside and a load of doctors going in there.' Hailey, a mother of two daughters, aged nine and ten, says she is part of a group of parents who organised patrols of the Epping parks after girls said they were being filmed by residents of the Bell Hotel. She wants the migrants to be tagged with ankle bracelets. Hailey says her family might just leave Britain, and behind her, one of the many 'new media' journalists who have been crawling over Epping since the protests began – TikTok streamers, YouTubers and online personalities who are big on X – dances and cartwheels gormlessly on the grass. It appears that it was her team who brought a speaker, and now they're playing 'This Charming Man' by the Smiths. One of her colleagues takes a protestor and slow dances with her. These guys came seeking trouble, views and fame. Without that, they're plain bored. When Stand Up To Racism arrive in their pen opposite, the confrontation is short. The two sides are kept far apart from each other, and there are so many police officers between them that it cannot escalate. They shout at each other, but after about 50 minutes Stand Up To Racism leave. 'From this town, to the sea, Essex will be fascist-free!' they chant as they walk away. They'll be back in London in time for dinner. The TikTokers leave soon after; the locals stay.
The Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Fresh migrant hotel protest erupts after ‘secret plot to move asylum seekers into £250k flats' in UK town
ANOTHER migrant hotel protest has erupted after an alleged "secret plot" to move asylum seekers into £250k flats emerged. Furious locals took to the streets after plans to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a brand new apartment development in Waterlooville, Hampshire, were revealed. The council is in discussion with the the Home Office over plans to house asylum seekers in flats. But locals have not taken to kindly to the reported plans and branded it a "disgrace". Thousands of residents gathered outside the 19 flat development in Waterlooville this evening to protest the move. Suella Braverman MP is also opposing the move. Braverman previously labelled Home Office proposals to house 35 people in Waterlooville as "utterly inappropriate" and set up a petition which attracted more than 9,000 signatures. A Home Office consultation ends on Friday after which it will decide whether to approve the proposed accommodation. In a letter to current Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Braverman wrote such facilities made town centres "no-go zones for the patriotic, common-sense majority". In a statement on Tuesday, the council confirmed it had received her petition and said it would "do its utmost to reflect the view of residents" when submitting its response to the Home Office. It comes after cops admitted escorting pro-migrant protesters to an asylum hotel before violence erupted. Essex Police had initially denied it brought demonstrators from Stand Up to Racism to the Bell Hotel in Epping before clashes with anti-migrant protesters on July 17. The force changed its tune after being shown footage of the activists apparently being led by officers from a station to outside the hotel while holding placards. Six people have been charged with offences related to the disorder. However, while accepting it provided a "foot cordon", the force has denied claims it specifically "bussed" the counter-protesters to the hotel. 1
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Merseyside officers called in to help police Epping asylum hotel protests amid fears of widespread riots
Police officers who dealt with last summer's Southport stabbings riots were called in to help as protesters clashed outside an asylum hotel in Essex on Sunday. Merseyside Police joined officers from other forces including the Metropolitan Police, Northamptonshire, Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex, and the City of London to aid local police by monitoring crowds of protesters and counter-protesters outside the Bell Hotel in Epping as demonstrators gathered for a fifth time. It was the latest in a string of protests in the Essex town after asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charges and remains in police custody. As many as 500 demonstrators waved union flags outside the hotel, while Stand Up To Racism counter-protesters marched to the hotel with signs reading: 'Stop scapegoating refugees and migrants'. Protests were also held at a number of other hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers across the country, including in Wolverhampton, Norwich, and Greater Manchester. In Essex, a 52-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman were arrested, as well as a 27-year-old woman who is believed to be part of the counter-protest. Essex Police said it had established protest restrictions due to repeated serious disruption, violence, and harm to the community during previous demonstrations, adding that residents have reported feeling 'trapped', fearful of leaving their homes and anxious about protest activity previously. There was a ban on anyone wearing face coverings and that there were designated sites opposite the hotel for protesters following an 'escalation of violence' during previous protests. It comes after the announcement an elite unit of detectives will be convened to monitor social media over anti-migrant protests. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner issued a stark warning to Keir Starmer last week over fears the UK could once again face a summer of protests. She told the prime minister it was 'incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people's lives in their communities'. The weekend saw demonstrations spread across the country, with clashes between police and protesters at Cresta Court in Trafford, Greater Manchester, on Sunday. Demonstrators also gathered at Canary Wharf in London, Leeds, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, and Southampton. West Yorkshire Police said one person was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer in Leeds. A spokesperson for the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) said: 'Mutual aid is routinely used to mobilise officers across the country to ensure public safety, and so the National Police Coordination Centre has been supporting Essex Police to ensure the force has the resilience it needs.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Merseyside officers called in to help police Epping asylum hotel protests amid fears of widespread riots
Police officers who dealt with last summer's Southport stabbings riots were called in to help as protesters clashed outside an asylum hotel in Essex on Sunday. Merseyside Police joined officers from other forces including the Metropolitan Police, Northamptonshire, Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex, and the City of London to aid local police by monitoring crowds of protesters and counter-protesters outside the Bell Hotel in Epping as demonstrators gathered for a fifth time. It was the latest in a string of protests in the Essex town after asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charges and remains in police custody. As many as 500 demonstrators waved union flags outside the hotel, while Stand Up To Racism counter-protesters marched to the hotel with signs reading: 'Stop scapegoating refugees and migrants'. Protests were also held at a number of other hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers across the country, including in Wolverhampton, Norwich, and Greater Manchester. In Essex, a 52-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman were arrested, as well as a 27-year-old woman who is believed to be part of the counter-protest. Essex Police said it had established protest restrictions due to repeated serious disruption, violence, and harm to the community during previous demonstrations, adding that residents have reported feeling 'trapped', fearful of leaving their homes and anxious about protest activity previously. There was a ban on anyone wearing face coverings and that there were designated sites opposite the hotel for protesters following an 'escalation of violence' during previous protests. It comes after the announcement an elite unit of detectives will be convened to monitor social media over anti-migrant protests. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner issued a stark warning to Keir Starmer last week over fears the UK could once again face a summer of protests. She told the prime minister it was 'incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people's lives in their communities'. The weekend saw demonstrations spread across the country, with clashes between police and protesters at Cresta Court in Trafford, Greater Manchester, on Sunday. Demonstrators also gathered at Canary Wharf in London, Leeds, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, and Southampton. West Yorkshire Police said one person was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer in Leeds. A spokesperson for the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) said: 'Mutual aid is routinely used to mobilise officers across the country to ensure public safety, and so the National Police Coordination Centre has been supporting Essex Police to ensure the force has the resilience it needs.'
