A weekend of planned protests after an
unprecedented week. A high court
decision to force the closure of a
so-called asylum hotel in Eping. Weeks
of protests sparked by an asylum seeker
being accused of the alleged sexual
assault of a school girl there. And in
places like Neton after the alleged rape
of a girl, asylum seekers again accused.
Today, hundreds gathered in cities like
Bristol, Liverpool, and Perth. But
people turning out in small towns like
here in Canock in Staffordshire, too.
One of many small pockets of protest
across the Midlands.
>> You're not English. You're not English
anymore.
>> At the moment, we've got a
counterprotest behind us here in Canic.
If you have a look around here, we're
actually in between the two protests.
And we've also got a protest over here
over my shoulder, which is the protest
against the so-called Asylum Hotel. We
wanted to speak to those on this side of
the protest, but a couple of people made
it difficult for us, saying they weren't
happy with us filming there.
>> Might on Channel 4.
>> Some counterprotesters didn't want to
speak to us either. Others felt it was
necessary.
>> Why was it so important for you to kind
of be seen to be so
>> Well, I think we do need to be seen
because I think the majority of the
population are welcoming to people who
come to their to their towns for various
reasons. The Ukrainians, for example,
they got a massive welcome in Stafford.
It is racism and they're harassed.
People can have freedom of speech for
why pick on innocent people.
[Music]
>> 20 miles down the road in Tamworth and
protesters gathered outside a hotel
being used as accommodation for asylum
seekers, including these grandmothers.
>> Do you feel listened to? Not at all.
>> Not at all. We're not listened to. No.
No one. None of us, we're all, we're all
English and none of us get a word. We're
not allowed a word, are we?
>> Cuz grandmarss have got to be heard.
We've got to be heard. It's just not
It's just not right what's happening. I
feel the least racist person out. And
that's what really quite tore me because
I thought I don't want to be classed as
racist. I just don't want these people
that are coming illegally. The use of
contingency accommodation to house
asylum seekers has increased
significantly since the pandemic. In
March 2020, only 5% of asylum seekers
were housed in it. By March 2025, almost
a third were mostly in hotels. The
majority of local authorities have fewer
than one asylum seeker per 200 local
residents limit with the exception of
Coventry, Halton and Chesher, Hillington
and Houndslow in London as well as
Belfast and Glasgow. Yesterday, both the
Home Office and the owners of the Bell
Hotel in Eping said they'd appeal
against a high court decision to close
it. But it's politically perilous for
the government if it seems it's ignoring
the courts or indeed voters.
More boats arrived across the English
Channel last night despite the
government's one-in one deal that's
supposed to deter them. Reform UK has
now pledged mass deportations with its
leader Nigel Farage, saying he'd take
the UK out of the European Convention on
Human Rights, which has been used to
halt attempts to deport illegal
migrants. The current government says
his plans are pie in the sky.
back in the Midlands and it was a sleepy
Saturday in Neton, market day where
there were larger protests earlier this
month. A smaller gathering of protesters
by midafter afternoon. This is the third
protest that we've been to in a third
town within really a 30 mile radius
within the West Midlands. And this one
here in None, it's very peaceful.
>> But from the smallest protest to the
largest, this is an issue mobilizing
people no matter where they live right
across the country. And while
politicians debate how it should be
handled, strong feelings expressed on
Britain's streets.
>> Well, joining me now is Lord Glassman,
the founder of Blue Labor, a socially
conservative campaign group within the
party and the only Labour figure invited
to President Trump's second
inauguration. Lord Glman, not a huge
turnout for these protests. I mean, is
there genuine public anger on this or
has it all been amplified by the far
right?
>> Well, it's been amped by by the far
right. Don't ignore Antifa in all this.
were also whipping it up. I've never
been convinced that there was a mass
insurrection going on and there was
going to be a hot summer and war on the
streets, but there is a deep disaection
uh in in the people and that's not to be
ignored.
>> Right. Well, Nigel Farage isn't ignoring
it. He's talking about mass
deportations, immediate withdrawal from
the European Convention on Human Rights,
the UN Convention Against Torture. These
are policies that would once have been
dismissed as extremist, aren't they?
>> Well, things have really shifted. I
mean, the whole point we should never
been uh in this human rights I mean
after the war in 1950 uh Bevon um and
also Atley said you know no way would
this have status of British we've got a
very long history of liberty and our own
courts upholding um liberty and and
really that was a response in Europe to
obviously the second world war fascism
communism and all of those things is
that the government has to act in order
to allay a genuine public concern on
this issue.
>> Yeah. But do you agree with some of what
Nigel Farage is saying?
>> Um some I mean I I've long argued I've
argued for 20 years that we should um
withdraw from the European Court of
Human Rights. I think
>> and the UN Convention against torture. I
mean are you bothered?
>> So there there's distinctions um there
but what's got to be is that there has
to be sovereignty. There has to be
effective government action. And what
happened during the long years that we
were in the EU and particularly under
new labor which embraced very much the
supremacy of the courts over democracy
of the European court over parliament.
Now we had the referendum uh Kathy the
Brexit referendum. I think that's the
most significant event since the
election of Margaret Thatcher. I think
it really changed. Now we've got a much
more volatile politics because
politicians actually have to make
decisions. So that's where we are is
that people are looking to the
government to act. There's a widespread
understanding that you can't have 50,000
people illegally crossing across the
channel. Action needs to be taken and we
can't surrender that to Yeah. But action
is tougher because of Brexit which you
supported. I mean, for example, if we
were part of the EU, refugees could be
returned to the first safe country under
the Dublin agreement and that now can't
be done. Have people like you made it
harder actually for
>> I think what what we are is in a we're
divided of mind and divided of heart. I
mean one part I really understand of of
my party the Labor Party wants to return
to like the Prince album Dancing like
it's 1999 free movement globalization
technology. The world has really changed
and the and the people of this country
want to see effective government action
on the issue. I mean, I know you want
withdrawal from the European Convention
on Human Rights.
>> What about the uh refugee convention?
>> I'm not so sure about, but the refugee
convention needs revisiting because at
the end of the Second World War, there
were approximately 200 to 300,000
refugees um valid. Now, it's something
like 30 million. I mean, you've got to
look at the scale of this,
>> right? So what do you say to people who
are deeply concerned by the idea of
returning people to places where they
could be tortured? Afghanistan, Eratraa,
are we still a welcoming country or not?
>> No, no. I mean that that the whole point
is is that France is a safe country.
France is an ab, you know, it's a
signary. So I I dispute the whole idea
of calling them asylum seekers. Uh
they're not. France was a completely
safe country. So we've got to ask
ourselves what's happening with that
border. I think that when in politics
there's an issue that people are
obviously very concerned about, I think
it's obligatory for a government to
respond to that.
>> And what happens if Labour doesn't get a
grip on this?
>> Well, what happens is we I fear the same
fate as for the Conservatives. The
Conservatives are now like ghosts.
Kathy, do you remember they speak but we
don't hear. They live among us but we
don't see them. They're literally
specters.
>> But reforms will win if Labor doesn't
get a grip.
>> Absolutely. Those the odds is life and
death now. Labor has to respond to
workingclass concerns on this issue.
>> Lord Glasman, thank you very much for
joining us.