‘Pink Lady’ anti-migrant protesters have confronted police outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers in Canary Wharf today amid the recent surge of demonstrations.
The Britannia International Hotel in London is being used to accommodate hundreds of asylum seekers.
This location has been the focus of multiple turbulent protests in recent weeks, following the confirmation from Tower Hamlets Council that the property was transferred to the Home Office to serve as a residence for migrants.
Today, police officers were deployed around the area as the protest kicked off outside.
The group of men and women were ordered to remain on the pavement opposite the hotel.
Photos from the event show demonstrators carrying England flags, signs reading ‘stop the boats’ and coloured smoke flares.
Several men – one of them masked and topless – were seen being detained by police following a string of arrests made in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a young woman attempted to enter the migrant hotel armed with a meat cleaver after discovering an asylum seeker in her mother’s apartment behaving inappropriately, according to court reports.
She found the man ‘moving his hand’ over his genital area, Ms Augustus’s lawyer Emma Clements told Thames Magistrates’ Court.
‘Pink Lady’ anti-migrant protesters clashed with police outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Canary Wharf today in a new wave of demonstrations.
Today, masked protesters with flares expressed their opposition to asylum seekers being housed in the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf, east London.
The Pink Ladies group march to demonstrate their opposition to the housing of asylum seekers
Several men – one of them masked and topless – were seen being detained by police following a string of arrests made in recent weeks
After driving him away, she is said to have gone to the hotel around 6 pm, confronting a security guard who was trying to calm her.
She returned with a meat cleaver and started banging it on a metal barrier outside the hotel and shouted ‘f****** asylum seekers’, the court heard.
Channay Augustus, 22, is accused of being part of a group of around 20 people who tried to barge into the Britannia Hotel.
The trouble allegedly started when she discovered a migrant as she cleaned her blind mother’s ground-floor flat, a five-minute walk away from the hotel.
Augustus, of Tower Hamlets, was remanded into custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on September 12.
Today, hundreds also gathered in the Northumberland town of Ashington to protest against ‘illegal immigrants’ in the area.
The demonstration was shared by the Facebook page ‘British Unity’, with organisers claiming the aim was to have their concerns about safety in the town recognised by the Government.
Protesters who met at 12pm called for the removal of ‘illegal-immigrants’ in the area, and demanded a stop to ‘housing them for our children’s future’.
The Britannia International Hotel in London is being used to accommodate hundreds of asylum seekers. Pictured: A ‘Pink Lady protester
Photos from the London event today show demonstrators carrying England flags
Several men were seen being detained by police after a string of arrests were made in recent weeks
Britannia International Hotel has been housing asylum seekers and has seen protests in recent weeks
A police presence was in attendance at the protest as demonstrators also called for ‘mass deportations’ and to ‘stop the boats’.
MP for Blyth and Ashington Ian Lavery spoke ahead of the demonstration: ‘Anyone attending protests this weekend should behave responsibly and remember: actions have consequences. You might think you’ll know everyone in attendance, but sadly these kinds of events are often infiltrated by people from outside the area with their own agendas.’
He added: ‘In recent months, hysteria has been whipped up by national and local figures. Sadly, few are telling the truth. Too many across all parties have echoed divisive rhetoric rather than standing up for truth and fairness. If you do attend a meeting or protest, you should know the facts.’
The MP continued: ‘The anger out there is real – and justified. People in our communities live shorter, less healthy lives. Children are growing up in poverty. Schools are underfunded and crumbling. The NHS is under strain. People have less money in their pockets than at any time in a generation.
‘But let’s be clear: the people responsible for this decline are not those fleeing war or persecution. They are not the vulnerable seeking sanctuary.’
Organisers asked for those in attendance to wear ‘no face coverings’ and display ‘no violence.’
Crowds have since dispersed from the area.
