Police reportedly escorted anti-racism activists to a demonstration outside a migrant hotel in Aldershot.
Fury over police escorting anti-racism protesters to demonstration outside a migrant hotel has erupted again. A second police force is at the centre of the latest furore, with footage showing officers from Hampshire Constabulary walking alongside activists to Potters International Hotel in Aldershot.
The hotel has been the focus of a number of demonstrations in recent weeks, including on July 16 when a group of protesters gathered outside the venue in a protest police described as planned and peaceful. The video showing officers escorting anti-racism protesters towards the hotel was filmed in May.
Turning Point UK says police in Aldershot escorted pro-migrant activists to a protest in Aldershot (Image: Turning Point UK)
The footage emerged after the Chief Constable of Essex Police, Ben-Julian Harrington, denied that officers “bussed” counter-protesters to a demonstration outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping.
There have been a series of demonstrations outside the Bell Hotel since an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault earlier this month.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage shared footage on social media on Wednesday (July 23) which he said proved Essex Police transported “left wing protesters” to the Bell Hotel.
Mr Harrington flatly denied the claim, telling the media the accusation wasn’t true and police were taking people away from a protest for their own safety and to prevent violence.
Epping Forest District Council passed a motion on Thursday to call on the Government “to immediately and permanently close” the hotel “for the purposes of asylum processing”.
Essex Police has spent thousands policing demonstrations in Epping (Image: Getty)
The Aldershot protest footage shows an activist bearing a placard in support of the campaign group, Stand Up to Racism, which campaigns in support of migrants. The group has been approached for comment.
Senior Conservative MP, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, told the Telegraph it was not the police’s job to facilitate protest, but to ensure there is peace on the streets.
The same publication reports the video was filmed on May 10 at a protest attended by activists from Turning Point UK, which describes itself as a grassroots conservative organisation, and members of Rushmoor People First, a group describing itself as “anti-socialist and anti-Labour Party”.
Turning Point UK’s spokesman said the group has grown “increasingly appalled” to see police escorting “far-Left agitators” either through or alongside protests it has organised. He said there was a clear distinction in how left and right-wing demonstrations are policed and called for the “two-tiered nature of policing” to end.
A Hampshire Police spokesman said protests outside Potters International Hotel regularly take place on an area of land backing directly onto a busy A road between Aldershot and Farnborough.
He said as a result there is only one direction for people attending from Aldershot town centre or the nearby housing estate to arrive. The spokesman said the force liaises closely with event organisers and locals to make sure they know where it is safe to protest.
He added: “Policing protests requires us to balance the rights of those lawfully protesting and the rights of others to go about their lives without being subject to unacceptable disruption, whilst keeping the public safe.
“Protests organised by Rushmoor People First and attended by counter protestors this year have all concluded with no disorder, thanks to proactive engagement with police by protest organisers and the decisions made by officers on the ground to safely facilitate attending groups.”
