‘It's no secret...' Asylum seekers have been housed in hotel for 3 years

A 17TH-CENTURY country estate used to house asylum seekers has been operating for nearly three years without any complaints being raised to the authorities.

- Daniel CLARK

Winford Manor in North Somerset has been used by the Home Office as a holding centre for asylum seekers since September 2022.

But last week, former MP Jacob Rees-Mogg was filmed there as part of a GB News report which saw him drive out to the hotel with a GB News cameraman in a Jaguar and stand at the hotel’s padlocked gates, where he attempted to speak to a security guard at the entrance. Mr Rees-Mogg said he attempted to get answers from the Home Office and local authorities, but got none.

The ex-Conservative minister, who was Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the Government at the time, treated his discovery as an exclusive find. But all the way back in September 2022 a parish council meeting told villagers it was going to cease operating as a hotel and become an asylum centre with migrants.

Residents are still there from a variety of countries including Eritrea, Syria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland, as well as Georgia, initial details said.

Winford Manor was once a luxury hotel and wedding venue - and before that a religious retreat, before being bought by investment firm IntSol.

At the meeting in September 2022, 56 members of the public attended to raise questions and concerns about the use of Winford Manor by the Home Office as a holding centre for asylum seekers.