Reform UK is ready to go to court in a bid to stop asylum seekers from being housed in hotels, the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice has said. And the MP for Boston and Skegness also demanded a judicial review to deliver justice for the victims of grooming gangs, while dismissing suggestions that Jacob Rees-Mogg could be the next former Tory MP to join their ranks.
Speaking to Camilla Tominey Show on GB News, the Boston and Skegness MP – who also tackled the subject during an appearance on Sky News, said: “We’ve got a brilliant KC and a team of lawyers acting on a pro bono, no cost basis. They’ve already started work, and we will be using every possible legal lever to try to resist bringing asylum seekers, whether it’s into hotels or housing in the councils we control. So for example, in Lincolnshire, where we’ve just won control of the council, we’ve got an asylum seeker hotel in Skegness…
“Our voters have said we don’t want illegal immigration. We don’t want mass uncontrolled immigration and what they’re saying to us, they’ve given us a mandate to do all we can in the councils that we control to stop this illegal immigration.
“The point is we resist the use of hotels and housing, and we will use a variety of levers and legal mechanisms to try to make it unlawful for them in our areas, and then it’s up to the government to send them somewhere. Meetings are taking place this week.”
Migrant hotels in Tamworth and Rotherham were targeted during last summer’s riots.
Asked whether Sir Jacob might sign up, Mr Tice said: “None. Jacob’s a lovely man, but he’s a loyal Conservative.”
Quizzed over disturbing claims that grooming gang victims were being taunted on TikTok by their abusers, he added: “It’s just outrageous. And I’m afraid the reason is because there is a cover up going on in multiple areas, many towns, many local authorities and institutions, because people are guilty of an outrageous, scandalous cover up.
“We’ve got to look at whatever we can legally get done in those areas. I haven’t specifically got that answer today, but we are absolutely determined to try and hold these people to account.”
Mr Tice continued: “It’s extraordinary that Labour is still sort of sitting on the fence on this. Are they doing local inquiries, are they not? Why won’t they do a national inquiry?
“I think actually the Maggie Oliver initiative of actually running private prosecutions and looking at a judicial review, may be a faster and smarter to try and bring some people to justice and essentially to force through a different route, action and accountability. We’ve just got to try all of these different things to see what works.”
Mr Tice also demanded that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps be banned as a terrorist organisation.
He explained: “Whether it’s the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, of course, there’s no excuse. It’s pathetic that the Foreign Office continues to prevent this.”
