U.K News
Protest Outside UK Asylum-Seeker Hotel Ends In 15 Arrests
LONDON — Local police said Saturday that an anti-migration protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in northwest England turned violent, arresting 15 people.
Merseyside Police said that a police officer and two civilians were hurt during the fight on Friday night in Knowsley, a village 13.5 kilometers (8.4 miles) from Liverpool.
According to the police, some protesters threw objects and set fire to a police van. The arrested individuals, aged 13 to 54, were detained “following violent disorder.”
“The number of people who arrived at the Suites Hotel last night was determined to use a planned protest to carry out violent and despicable behavior,” Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said. “They came with hammers and fireworks to make as much trouble as possible, and their actions could have hurt or killed people in the crowd or police officers.”
According to Kennedy, the protest outside the hotel may have been sparked by social media speculation about a man accused of making inappropriate advances toward a teenage girl in a nearby town. According to her, the man in his twenties was arrested elsewhere in England on Thursday “on suspicion of a public order offense” for the protest but was later released on the advice of child protective services.
The Protests Brought A lot Of Arrests.
According to George Howarth, who represents Knowsley in the United Kingdom Parliament, for protest the violence on Friday night did not reflect the community.
“The people of Knowsley are not bigots, and they are welcoming to people fleeing some of the world’s most dangerous places in search of safety,” he said. “Those protesting against refugees tonight do not represent this community.”
Britain accepts fewer asylum seekers than other European countries, such as France and Germany, protest but there has been a significant increase in the number of people attempting to cross the English Channel in dinghies and other small boats.
In 2022, over 45,000 people arrived in Britain via this route, most seeking asylum. Because of political turmoil and bureaucratic delays, the system for processing asylum applications has slowed to a halt, trapping many migrants in hotels or other temporary accommodations.
Channel crossings have become a contentious protest political issue, with the Conservative government vowing to “stop the boats.” Opponents claim that the government demonizes desperate people fleeing war and poverty.
In October, a man firebombed a processing center for new arrivals in the Channel port of Dover. According to police, he was motivated by far-right ideology. He committed suicide after the attack.
SOURCE – (AP)