'These people are human beings'

South Ribble MP Paul Foster said it was important to remember that-unlike at The Bell Hotel in Epping-there had been "not one reported incident to the police" in relation to The Best Western in Leyland in the three years that it had been operating as asylum accommodation.

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He also hit out at what he described as "an orchestrated effort by certain political parties during the summer to create unrest around this issue".

"But that doesn't mean we don't need to see the use of these hotels cease as quickly as possible-that's always been the desire of me, the local council and the government," the Labour politician added.

"However, the facts of the matter are that we've got to get through the backlog [of asylum claims]. The mess that we inherited has taken longer to work through than we anticipated, but we are making progress-and we will get there."

Mr. Foster also stressed that the South Ribble facility was not being used to house lone males. "The Leyland hotel has got young families, young children and single mums-and if [they] have a right to stay here, they'll be allowed to stay here; if they haven't the right to stay here, then they clearly won't.