Hundreds of ‘Pink Lady’ anti-migrant protesters have descended on Westminster today in a fresh demonstration against asylum hotels.
Photos show the women holding Union Jack flags and wearing pink t-shirts with the slogan ‘British Women First’.
This faction, part of the broader anti-migrant movement, aims to draw attention to what they believe is a threat to women and girls from asylum seekers.
In response, counter-demonstrators gathered outside Parliament today, chanting slogans like ‘say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here’ and ‘stop the fascists now, now, now’.
Margaret Collins, 67, from Epping—a town in Essex that has become a hub for anti-migrant protests this summer—expressed her intention to be ‘loud and proud’ at the rally.
The retired accountant said: ‘This is about sending a message that mass immigration has not worked and the country is poorer for it.
‘Women are terrified to go out alone near migrant hotels. It doesn’t matter where in the country, it’s the same story.
‘It’s shocking. There needs to be real change.’
Anti-immigration protesters from the ‘Pink Ladies’ group demonstrate outside Downing Street in London
Carol-Ann Jones (pictured) said she attended the demonstration in Westminster today to ‘take a stand’
Supporters of the Pink Ladies movement gather opposite Downing Street
Photos show the women holding Union Jack flags and wearing pink t-shirts with the slogan ‘British Women First’
Sarah White, the organiser of the protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, gave a speech to the crowd.
She is currently on bail after being arrested outside Epping Forest District Council offices when she draped a Union Jack flag on the building.
Ms White has been accused of breaching a Section 14 order, which was put in place by police to designate where people could assemble.
Addressing the protesters today, she stated: ‘We are professionals. We follow the law, we are taxpayers, and we want a better community for our families; that’s our main focus.
‘We are mothers. We are not far right, we are just for the right cause.
‘We are peacefully protesting in Epping until the Bell Hotel is closed because it’s inappropriately next to a secondary school.
‘The women here come from all over the country, facing similar issues. Hotels keep appearing in our neighborhoods, and we feel unsafe. We’re frightened.’
The Bell Hotel, accommodating about 150 asylum seekers, has been a protest site frequently after one resident was charged and subsequently convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 41, tried to kiss the 14-year-old as she sat eating pizza with friends on a bench after school.
Protesters gather in Whitehall outside Downing Street as the ‘Pink Ladies’ stage a demonstration against illegal immigration
The group, which is a faction within the wider anti-migrant movement, are seeking to highlight the perceived danger to women and girls by those seeking asylum
Counter-demonstrators also gathered outside Parliament this afternoon, chanting ‘say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here’ and ‘stop the fascists now, now, now’
Mother Orla Minihane, who is also from Epping, said: ‘This is a mass gathering of right-minded women who have had enough.
‘We’ve had enough of being scared.
‘We’ve had enough of having to change our behaviour because we’re worried about unknown men living in these hotels.’
Meanwhile, Carol-Ann Jones said she attended the demonstration to ‘take a stand’.
She said: ‘Today is about telling the people in power we have had enough and we’re not going anywhere.
‘Enough is enough.’
Sarah Deighton, 56, from Welling, Kent, added: ‘I have been to the Epping protests. I have been to others as well.
‘We won’t stop until all of these are closed down. We’ve had enough. Today is peaceful. But we’ve had enough.’
A woman holds a placard which reads ‘I’m not a racist…I’m a worried mother’ outside Parliament today
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, is seen being arrested in Epping
Sarah White holds a British flag outside The Civic Offices during a protest against housing of asylum seekers in August
It comes after it emerged last week that anti-immigration protests in Epping alone have cost the police more than £1.5million.
Clashes there intensified last month after the Government won a court challenge allowing asylum seekers to keep being housed at the Essex hotel.
The Court of Appeal overturned a temporary High Court injunction which would have forced the 138 asylum seekers there to leave by September 12.
Epping Forest District Council had argued site owner Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by not notifying Epping of its plans for the Bell.
However, the authority could still be granted a full injunction should it be successful at a three-day hearing starting on October 15 in London.
The decision to rule in favour of the hotel chain and Home Office sparked outrage, with protests spreading to cities across the UK amid accusations the government was ‘taking the side of migrants over Britons’.
Several other councils across the UK have since vowed to take legal action to kick asylum seekers out of hotels following the ruling.
Labour-run councils, such as Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor are among those continuing to storm ahead with plans to launch legal bids against the government.
