The Refugee Council wrote to the speaker pointing out that it is Home Office practice not to name hotels where migrants are staying after they have been targeted by far-right groups. Former Education Secretary Jonathan Gullis, Peterborough MP Paul Bristow and Ipswich MP Tom Hunt are among a dozen MPs who have designated accommodation reserved for asylum seekers. Counter-terrorism police said last week that the bomb attack at a migrant center in Dover was “extremely right-wing motivated”. Andrew Leak, 66, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is believed to have taken his own life after throwing two or three “crude” incendiary devices at the Western Jet Foil site in Kent. Anti-racism group Hope Not Hate has recorded 182 visits this year by anti-immigration activists to migrant accommodation facilities, where asylum seekers and security staff can be harassed and filmed. In the letter, Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the bomb attack highlighted the fact that asylum seekers are vulnerable to attacks by violent extremists. “It has been Home Office practice not to publicly name hotels where people stay to protect their security and privacy, but we know that increasingly MPs are naming specific premises when raising this issue. “It is certainly right that MPs should be able to raise any constituency issue in parliament, but this can be done without identifying a specific hotel. “I would greatly appreciate it if you could urgently contact MPs on this matter, asking them to refrain from publicly identifying hotels that host asylum seekers,” he wrote. Reacting to the letter, Gullis, who named a hotel in his Stoke-on-Trend constituency where 80 people were to be held, said he would not be silent. “People in Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke are rightly angry that over £6 million a day is being spent on hotels housing illegal economic migrants. “We have every right to speak up for the people we serve and voice their concerns. “I will not be silent and name and shame greedy hotel chains that only serve themselves, not the community they are in,” he said. Hunt and Bristow have been contacted for comment. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. During a debate in Westminster Hall last week, Hunt raised the possibility of using a hotel in Ipswich town center to house more than 200 asylum seekers and named another nearby hotel where another 150 were staying. “The people of Ipswich are welcoming people but, frankly, there is a limit,” he argued. Bristow spoke of 80 asylum seekers being housed in a branded hotel in the center of his constituency. “Peterborough is welcoming refugees – but something very different is happening with small boat crossings and the use of a smart hotel. This is widely reported and accepted by most,” he tweeted. Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said there was “little gain” from making public the exact hotels where asylum seekers stayed. “We must remember that asylum seekers are a vulnerable group who have often experienced serious trauma. Regardless of where they are housed their safety must be guaranteed – revealing the names of individual hotels will only serve to put them at greater risk,” he said. Rosie Carter, policy director at Hope Not Hate, backed the call for MPs to refrain from naming hotels used as accommodation for asylum seekers. “Publishing hotels used to house asylum seekers does nothing to find people more suitable accommodation, but puts pins on the map for the far right to further put people’s safety at risk. It is purely irresponsible,” he said. A representative for Hoyle declined to comment.
