Migrant rumours see empty hotel targeted by protesters

Crowds gather at Canary Wharf after social media claims people were being moved there from Epping's Bell Hotel

- ARCHIE MITCHELL NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE DAVID MADDOX

Protesters surrounded an empty hotel in London's finance district after false rumours online suggested it was being used for migrants from another hotel, where riots have broken out.

The Home Office has earmarked more than 400 beds at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, which it says it will use to house migrants at £81 per night per person.

Protesters gathered at the site on Tuesday after social media posts claimed migrants were being moved there from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which has been the scene of violent protests over the past few days. So far, 10 people have been arrested in connection with that disorder, which was sparked when an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault.

Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist, is among those who claimed online that migrants were being transferred to the London hotel from Epping. The rumours sparked protests and counterprotests, with police drafted to the scene on Tuesday, despite the hotel currently sitting empty.

Demonstrators had also seized on online claims that migrants were being housed at £400 a night, five times more than the actual cost, which the government will not be charged until migrants move in.

“Asylum seekers are not being removed from The Bell Hotel in Epping,” a Home Office spokesperson said.

Reform MP Lee Anderson was accused of further stoking division by attending the protest outside the Canary Wharf hotel and warning of “an influx of illegal migrants”.

“What are we playing at?” he asked on social media, posting a clip in which he said he is “absolutely furious” and that families across the UK would not be able to afford a night’s stay in the hotel.