Police are bracing for more asylum hotel protests today, as crowds are set to gather in Manchester, Newcastle, and London. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has said the event in Islington will see an “increased police presence.” The force has imposed conditions on a protest and counterprotest outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel. Local residents organised the protest against the use of the building under the banner “Thistle Barbican needs to go—locals say no.”
A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and supported by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as other groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party, will also take place. In a video on X yesterday, Mr Corbyn said: “The fascists and the far-right are on our streets. They’ve been defiling our mosques. They’re attacking desperate people who are refugees and asylum seekers.” A protest and counter-protest will also take place in Newcastle outside The New Bridge Hotel.
Yesterday, the Manchester Evening News (MEN) reported that a man was arrested on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed terror organisation – believed to be National Action – following a demonstration outside a hotel in Altrincham where asylum seekers are being housed. Rival protesters clashed outside the Cresta Court Hotel on the evening of July 27.
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