Angela Rayner has warned that anger at high levels of illegal immigration is risking social cohesion in Britain’s poorest communities and must be addressed, as fears of a new ‘summer of riots’ grow.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the Cabinet this morning they had to ‘acknowledge the real concerns people have’ about immigration and economic insecurity, hours after anti-migrant clashes spread to Norfolk.
Around 150 people gathered last night outside the Park Hotel in Diss for a ‘peaceful’ protest after the Home Office announced plans to change it from housing asylum-seeker families to single men.
But footage posted on social media, including by supporters of far right activist Tommy Robinson, showed clashes between pro and anti-migrant groups.
It followed violence outside a hotel in Epping, Essex after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl eight days after arriving in the UK. Â
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that Britain is a ‘powder keg’ that could explode into a repeat of the street violence that followed the Southport murders 12 months ago – unless Labour gets a grip on migrant hotels.Â
Yesterday Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed Britain was getting close to ‘civil disobedience on a vast scale’ while insisting the violence in Epping was caused by a few ‘bad eggs’.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said today that Ms Rayner warned the Cabinet ’17 of the 18 places that saw the worst of the disorder last summer ranked at the top of the most deprived, and while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the Government had to show it had a plan to address people’s concerns (and) provide opportunities for everyone to flourish’.Â
‘I think she sees a link between concerns that people have about where the Government is acting on their behalf and acting in their interests, and a range of factors,’ he said.
Around 150 people gathered outside The Park Hotel, in Diss, Norfolk, last night. Protesters and counter-protesters clashed
Protesters, including children, held up banners saying ‘stop the boats’, while others clashed with counter-protesters
Protesters took to the streets of Epping on Sunday – with marchers seen holding red smoke flares aloft as demonstrators displayed signs behind them
The Deputy Prime Minister told the Cabinet this morning they had to ‘acknowledge the real concerns people have’ about immigration and economic insecurity as fears of a ‘summer of riots’ grew.
The Prime Minister is facing pressure to act to prevent a repeat of 2024, when towns and cities were hit by violent, often racist protests triggered by the Southport child murders.Â
As the Commons prepares to break up today for its summer recess, Labour MPs have voiced fears that the country could see violence before they return in September, in a rerun of 12 months ago.Â
The demonstration in Norfolk started with around 60 people shouting ‘we want our country back’.Â
They were met by about 30 counter-protesters from Stand Up To Racism holding signs that read ‘refugees welcome’.
Footage shows them initially standing on opposite sides of the road outside the hotel.Â
But as tension mounted, they clashed with one another, with protesters crossing the road to confront the counter-protesters.
South Norfolk Council has opposed plans to change the use of the hotel to single adult male migrants, saying it only learned about it in a brief email from Whitehall last week. The Home Office is in contact with Adrian Ramsay MP and the council.
The local authority argued families at the hotel had become part of the local community and replacing them with single men could see tension boil over as it has in other parts of the country.
An agitated protester could be seen clashing with counter-protesters and police in Diss
Protesters and counter-protesters could be seen on opposite sides of the road outside the hotel
In a letter to the Home Office, council leader Daniel Elmer, wrote: ‘We feel the decision and intended timeframe poses significant risks and concerns to both community cohesion and the vulnerable single males who would be residing at the hotel.
‘The community impact of this change cannot be overstated. When the hotel was first opened for asylum accommodation, there was considerable unease among local residents.’
He added: ‘A sudden shift to a SAM [Single Adult Male] hotel risks reigniting those tensions, especially in the absence of any community engagement or mitigation strategy from the Home Office.’Â
The Grade II listed Park Hotel is situated on a road containing a mixture of Victorian, Tudor, and Elizabethan houses right in the heart of the historic Diss town centre.
It is adjacent to the mere, a popular destination for locals and tourists which offers scenic views and opportunities for recreation and wildlife viewing.
Julian Bareham, 71, who has lived opposite the Park Hotel for 22 years, complained he didn’t want ‘these people’ walking freely around the town.
‘If they are locked in and can’t get out, I will feel more at ease. We don’t know what these people are capable of,’ he said.
‘The hotel used to be a nice friendly community hub, an amenity that was well-respected and useful for those needing an overnight stay who were coming here for business. It is a huge loss.
‘After lockdown, the hotel never really recovered and the owners sold it to new owners who did a deal with the government and this deal, I believe has been a disaster for the town.’Â
But a 55-year-old man who lives near the hotel was supportive of the asylum seekers, however, and expressed concern about the tone of the protests.
Protesters – some wearing Union Jack bucket hats – held placards up opposing the plans in Diss
Counter-protesters gathered next to a ‘stop the boat’ banner holding posters up which said ‘stop the far right’
A police officer was seen with blood running down his cheek outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 20
In Epping, hundreds of furious locals gathered outside The Bell Hotel on Thursday after Ethiopian resident Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu (pictured), 38, was charged with sex attacks on schoolgirls. He denies the charges
Riot police followed a march into the town centre as protesters gathered in the area
‘Yesterday was absolute chaos, people were shouting far right and ill-informed things about how these people will be molesting and raping the women and children of Diss,’ he told the Mail.
‘I felt absolutely threatened in my own home, they were saying that they are going to be coming every Sunday at 2pm. This is going to disrupt our peaceful family life and I am worried.
‘I have no issues with peaceful protests but this was unorganised, people spilling on the streets nearly being run over. A blind woman had to walk onto the road as the pavements were flooded.
‘We have had asylum seekers residing next door for the last three years or so, roughly, and there has never been any issues. It is far better and quieter than when the hotel was in operation.’
Last Thursday hundreds of furious locals gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, after Ethiopian resident Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sex attacks on schoolgirls.
Kebatu denied the charges when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.Â
Eight police officers were injured on Thursday, while protests have continued to take place in the days since. Sunday was the fourth in just nine days – with around 500 people gathering outside the hotel.Â
The leader of Epping Forest District Council warned that far right groups could feed off discontent if it is not closed.Â
People wrapped in St George’s flag faced down riot police who lined up in a queue on Hemnall Street in Epping on Sunday
Protesters marching in Epping chanted in opposition to The Bell Hotel housing migrants
Protesters waved flags and signs as chants of ‘save our kids’ and ‘send them home’ rang out
Protesters appeared to scuffle with police near the centre of EppingÂ
Chris Whitbread told BBC Newsnight that the council had warned the Home Office the hotel was the wrong site, adding: ‘It’s a powder keg now and we need to get something done and we need the Home Office to listen.’
He went on: ‘My concerns are for next week, or this week, if Tommy Robinson turns up, if we see another example of what happened on Thursday evening, we really have got to get this back under control.
He told Mr Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon he was ‘not welcome’ and should stay away, but added: ‘What we want is the Home Office to act sensibly, recognise that this hotel is in the wrong location for this type of use and close it as quickly as possible.’
Mr Farage has also weighed in on the Epping protests, saying:Â ‘I don’t think anybody in London can understand just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale in this country.’
He accepted there were some ‘bad eggs that turned up’, including ‘the usual far-Right thugs’, but added: ‘Do I understand how people in Epping feel? You bet your life I do.
‘Don’t underestimate the simmering anger and disgust there is in this country that we are letting in every week, in fact some days, many hundreds of undocumented young males, many of whom come from cultures in which women and young girls are not even treated as second-class citizens.
‘I do understand the genuine upset and anger, and I’ll bet you that most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren’t far-Right or far-Left or anything like that, they were genuinely concerned families.’
The Reform UK leader claimed Britain is on the brink of ‘societal collapse’ as he vowed to halve crime in five years if her becomes prime minister.Â
The PM’s official spokesperson has said there are now just over 200 migrant hotels, down from 400 under the Conservatives. But they failed to address whether the Epping protests will accelerate the Government’s efforts to close these hotels.
Bottles and smoke flares were thrown towards police vehicles stationed outside The Bell Hotel
A man was seen being put into the back of a police van at the Epping protests on Sunday night
The man was spotted back on the scene – with all his teeth intact – last night. Asked what happened by a fellow protester filming him, he said: ‘They’re not teeth, they’re implants. They’ve broke the implants, so I’ve literally Gorilla glued them in’
Ten people have been charged in relation to the riots, including a 17-year-old. Two people have been charged with violent disorder.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: ‘What we have seen in Epping over the last week is not protest, it’s hooliganism and the people responsible for it can expect to be held accountable.
‘To those who seek to use social media to peddle untruths and lies about the incidents in Epping on Thursday and Sunday, you won’t win.’
Blue and white smoke bombs were let off outside the hotel in Epping as protestors gathered
The hotel (above) has been operating as an asylum hotel on and off for the last five years
Protestors gathered outside the migrant hotel where a demonstration on Thursday descended into violent chaos
One woman displayed a sign made of cardboard which read ‘I’m not far right I’m worried about my kids’
A sign displayed outside the hotel in reads ‘Protect our Kids’ with England flags painted on either side
Another display called to ‘Stop the Boats’ with England flags between the O’s and on either corner
The Prime Minister is facing pressure to act to prevent a repeat of 2024, when towns and cities were hit by violent, often racist protests triggered by the Southport child murders
Epping Forest District Council Chris Whitbread warned that far right groups could feed off discontent if migrant hotels are not closed
He spoke after demonstrations outside a hotel in Epping, Essex, left eight police officers injured.
 A police car is set on fire as Far-right activists hold an ‘Enough is Enough’ protest in Sunderland in August last year
