Anti-migrant protests persisted across Britain on Sunday outside hotels housing asylum seekers, a day after police separated demonstrators and counter-protesters in several cities as tensions over immigration policies grew.
Immigration has become the public’s top concern in polls, adding pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government to deliver on its promise to end the costly reliance on hotels, which runs into billions of pounds each year.
Recent weeks have seen regular protests outside hotels, fuelled partly by concerns about safety after a migrant housed east of London was charged with sexual assault. On Sunday, demonstrations took place in Epping, Bristol and Birmingham.
A court ruling last week ordered the removal of asylum seekers from a hotel in Epping, a site that has become a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests. The government has appealed the decision. Protesters gathered again there on Sunday, waving flags and holding placards reading “Epping says no” and “Stop the boats.”
Smaller anti-immigration rallies were also held on Saturday across towns and cities in England, Scotland and Wales.
Official figures released on Thursday showed asylum claims have reached record levels, with more migrants in hotels compared with a year earlier.
Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party which has topped recent voting intention polls, told The Times he would pursue mass deportations if elected, including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, striking repatriation deals with states such as Afghanistan and Eritrea, and creating holding sites for 24,000 migrants.
On Sunday, the Labour government announced reforms to the asylum appeals process aimed at cutting delays, reducing the backlog of 106,000 cases, and phasing out hotel use. Under the plan, an independent adjudicators’ body would be created to handle appeals.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said the system had been left in “complete chaos” by the previous government and pledged to restore control. “We cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays,” she said.
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Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano is showing increased activity, with lava flowing from two summit craters and flames, smoke and ash rising from the caldera.
The Arctic has become a frontline for strategic competition, NATO’s top military commander in Europe said on Sunday, as Russia and China increase their presence in the region.
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More than 1,000 apartment buildings in Kyiv remain without heating after Russian missile attacks crippled the city’s energy system during a sharp cold snap, Ukrainian officials say.
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Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano is showing increased activity, with lava flowing from two summit craters and flames, smoke and ash rising from the caldera.
The Arctic has become a frontline for strategic competition, NATO’s top military commander in Europe said on Sunday, as Russia and China increase their presence in the region.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is suffering kidney failure and is undergoing dialysis, Ukrainian intelligence sources say.
More than 1,000 apartment buildings in Kyiv remain without heating after Russian missile attacks crippled the city’s energy system during a sharp cold snap, Ukrainian officials say.
Deaths linked to nationwide protests in Iran have risen to more than 500, according to a U.S.-based rights group, as Tehran warned it would retaliate against U.S. military targets if Washington intervenes.
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