Asylum hotel protests continue as Cooper sets out plan to clear appeals backlog
Protests continued on Sunday over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers as the UK Government set out plans for a fast-track appeals process to speed up the removal of people with no right to be in the UK.
A group of protesters, some draped in the St George’s Cross, gathered outside the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in the West Midlands, while in London police stood guard at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf.
In Epping, the focus of a legal battle over housing migrants, there was a party atmosphere among protesters at The Bell Hotel.
At least 150 people – men, women and children – stood behind barriers, danced and cheered as a number of passing cars hooted their horns in support.
There was a heavy presence of uniformed police officers opposite them who were standing across the road guarding the hotel.
Ministers hope the overhaul of the asylum appeal process will make it easier to get people out of hotels and on planes out of the UK.
Demonstrations
After protests on Saturday across the UK which resulted in at least 15 arrests, demonstrations continued on Sunday.
In Birmingham protesters peered in through the doors of the hotel and one was seen scaling a ladder to hang a flag on a lamp post by the Holiday Inn sign.
At Canary Wharf, police officers stood at the entrance to the Britannia Hotel while security guards could also be seen standing behind full length barriers that blocked off the entrance way.
About 20 protesters stood quietly on the other side of the road with Union flags propped up against a fence.
A woman carried a homemade banner which read: “Tower Hamlets council house homeless Brits first” which had a St George’s flag drawn on it.
Another banner read: “Enough is enough protect our women and girls.”
Official figures released earlier this month showed a total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
The record level of applications comes as the backlog of people waiting for an initial decision on their claims dropped to 90,812 at the end of June.
There were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of the same month.
Labour has promised to end the use of the sites by 2029.
‘Unacceptable’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said “completely unacceptable” delays in the appeals process left failed asylum seekers in the system for years.
The proposed new system would see independent adjudicators, rather than judges, deal with appeals over asylum decisions.
There are about 51,000 asylum appeals waiting to be heard, taking on average more than a year to reach a decision.
As measures have been put in place to speed up initial decisions, court delays over appeals are now thought to be the biggest cause of pressure in the asylum accommodation system.
The Home Secretary said the overhaul would result in a system which is “swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place”.
She said: “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end.
“That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system.
“We are determined to substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels.
“Already since the election we have reduced the backlog of people waiting for initial decisions by 24% and increased failed asylum returns by 30%.
“But we cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer.”
The Refugee Council’s Imran Hussain said: “The fastest way to speed up asylum appeals is to get decisions right first time.
“But at the moment, nearly half of appeals are successful, meaning that the initial decision was wrong.
“Getting initial decisions right first time speeds up the whole process and means people can leave hotels earlier.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Less than a thousand nationally and the press have lost their lunch? It remains the top story for many and even once trusted news outlets lost the plot, BBC, ITV etc. what a state on this country.
The word “protests” is doing a lit of heavy lifting there. From what I’ve actually seen it’s just a small gaggle of gammons who want a change of scenery from their local spoons or sitting at home screaming at the TV or trying to be edgy and relevant on Facebook.
Hopefully they’ve been dumb enough to take their mobile phone with them so they’re now on a special watch list.