The Home Office said record levels of arrivals in the UK had put unprecedented pressure on the system and it was working with councils to “find suitable accommodation during this difficult time”. But the plan faces fierce opposition from at least six Conservative MPs, who are resisting proposals for hotels in their constituencies to be used to house asylum seekers. At the same time, three Tory-led councils – Great Yarmouth, Stoke-on-Trent and East Reading, Yorkshire – and Labour-led Ipswich Borough Council have launched legal action against the plans. Conservative backbenchers blocking the use of hotels in their areas are Selaine Saxby (North Devon), Kate Kniveton (Burton), Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central), Tom Hunt (Ipswich), Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) and David. Davis (Haltemprice and Howden). Davis, Gideon, Kniveton, Saxby and Fletcher all contacted the Home Office to express their objections. Last week, Davies tweeted: “I have been contacted by a number of constituents concerned about proposals to use the Humber View Hotel in my constituency to house asylum seekers. East Riding Council and I have been resisting the proposals since the Home Office first informed us.’ Gideon said she had written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to object to the 88-room North Staffordhotel being used for asylum seekers. “As we seek to promote Stoke-on-Trent, the proposed site, at the gateway to our city for those arriving by train, is highly inappropriate,” he told the Stoke Sentinel. Fletcher said she had questioned the Home Office about the suitability of using the 150-room Leyland Hotel near the M6 as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. He said he had serious concerns about the “isolated location and lack of access to local transport links or amenities”. Kniveton told her local newspaper that she had spoken to Braverman, urging her to give councils more of a say in where asylum seekers are housed. Writing on her constituency website, Saxby said: “I am deeply concerned that a hotel operating in Ilfracombe has offered its premises to the Home Office to house asylum seekers. While I fully appreciate the need to care for those waiting for asylum cases to be heard, I strongly believe that it should be in a facility in a larger city so as not to further burden an already remote, coastal community where the health care provisions have already extended”. He met with the Home Office last month and said he feared a decision had already been made. Hunt backed an injunction which prevented the Labor council from using the 200-room Novotel in Ipswich for asylum seekers. “But it’s important to note that it’s short-term and we need to make sure it’s permanent, and I would support the council to do that,” Hunt told the BBC. On Wednesday, Sheila Oxtoby, the chief executive of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, accused the Home Office of showing a “total lack of consultation and engagement” with local authorities on the issue. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The council said it had secured an interim injunction in relation to a hotel in a “prime tourist location where there is a proposed use as a hostel for the accommodation of asylum seekers”. Lawyers for Stoke-on-Trent City Council appeared at the High Court on Wednesday to seek an extension to an interim injunction granted on October 21 after it was told the Home Office planned to use the North Stafford Hotel to house asylum seekers. Jake Thorold, representing the local authority, told the court that the plans would be in breach of planning rules and that it was “not right” that “the Home Office can choose to contract with any hotel they are willing to do and transports asylum seekers in breach of planning controls’. Other authorities have also raised concerns, with Tamworth Borough Council in Staffordshire saying “the Home Office’s decision to use a property in Tamworth to house asylum seekers was taken too quickly”. Council leaders since 14 Kent have warned that the county is at “tipping point” due to the burden of taking in migrants and asylum seekers. A Home Office spokesman said: “The number of people arriving in the UK seeking asylum and needing accommodation has reached record levels, putting unprecedented pressure on the asylum system. The Home Office and partners identify places to stay based on whether they are safe and available. “While we accept that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation and we are working hard with local authorities to find suitable accommodation during this difficult time.”
