Refugee groups face far-right threats

Refugee support organisations have been forced to install safe rooms in their premises, relocate to less visible sites and in some cases close their offices in response to the threat of far-right violence.

- Diane Taylor Rajeev Syal

Half of NGOs and charities supporting people seeking refuge have faced threats, a "hostile environment" of protest and safety concerns since the riots of 2024, according to research documents seen by the Guardian.

Some heads of the organisations have also received "credible death threats", a claim supported by police sources. The organisations polled support tens of thousands of asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants.

Keir Starmer faces a growing clamour from councils to block hotels being used to house asylum seekers through legal action, after a court ruled that more than 100 applicants staying in Essex should be removed.

Data released yesterday showed that the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels had risen by 8% to 32,059 in a year. Despite many people coming from countries known for serious human rights abuses and conflict, rates of asylum being granted to people from such countries as Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea remain low compared with recent years.

The safety concerns set out in the report are so grave that an internal Home Office meeting is due to take place imminently to discuss growing concerns about similar issues.

The organisations have been forced to take radical steps to protect themselves and their clients in recent months, including temporarily closing offices and moving to an online-only service, and removing content from their websites including location information.

Coordination with police and other authorities has increased and in some cases officers have installed new CCTV close to refugee organisations.