Express reporter Adam Toms covered a protest outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf.
Adam Toms says he felt demoralised when leaving the anti-migrant protest outside the Britannia Hotel (Image: Adam Toms)
As I turned up at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf at about 8.30am, the day after anti-asylum seeker protesters first gathered outside the building, only a single police officer was standing guard outside. Some cider cans and a placard left in a bush were signs of the previous day’s demonstration, and the hotel was erecting a metal fence around its entrance, clearly expecting more to congregate later. People walked past and gave the Britannia a curious glance, some aware of what had occurred, others sensing that something was afoot. One chap on his way to a work meeting told me that he feared violence, as it was believed that asylum seekers were to be housed in the hotel.
“This area is known for the odd gang war,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll tolerate it. I’m just speculating.” He added: “I thought I’d pop by to see what all the fuss is about.” Like many I talked to that day, the man claimed that you don’t know what the migrants thought to be on their way to the area were “capable of”, and he was afraid for locals’ safety, especially as regards women and girls. The Home Office said to me that day that no asylum seekers were “currently” being housed there. Tower Hamlets Council said on Tuesday July 22 that it was “aware of the Government’s decision” to use the building “to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers”. A Tory councillor, Peter Golds, said he understood that the authority was only told this the previous day.
Most of the day was spent waiting around the hotel for asylum seekers to arrive. Crowds of police came and went, with the anticlimaxes interspersed by interviews with residents and politicians. Alex Wilson, a Reform UK London Assembly Member, dropped by and said it was “inevitable” that other hotels would see similar scenes in the capital, as the situation had been “foisted on” locals.
Perhaps the standout exchange I had was with veteran Terry James Humm, who served in Northern Ireland in the 1990s and has spent time sleeping rough since. He asked: “There are over 12,000 ex-servicemen on the streets, and why should they get priority?”
“I’m not racist, but I just think it’s morally wrong,” he added. “I think Nigel Farage – he’s the man. He says what people are too scared to say.”
The Reform UK leader will no doubt be eager to take advantage of the growing irritation across the country over the use of hotels to house migrants, including flaring tensions outside The Bell Hotel in Epping. Many of those who assembled outside the Britannia believed that authorities were transporting some people housed in Essex to Canary Wharf.
Lord knows why the Government chose this area of East London as the latest holding place for individuals hoping to stay in the UK. The optics of letting them stay in a hotel right in the middle of one of the country’s largest financial centres aren’t great. The Isle of Dogs is also full of people who will not be happy at the prospect in the slightest. Not to mention, there is an office full of journalists a 10-minute walk away.
In 2019, it was reported that 40 neighbourhoods in Tower Hamlets were among the 20% most “deprived” in the country, according to Government figures. Locals emphasised that many working people in the area are resorting to food banks. A sense of fear and unfairness motivated people to get together later in the day, after they had finished work, outside the Britannia.
Protesters and counter protesters shouted at each other across the road. (Image: Adam Toms)
Lee Boys, who was born and bred in Stepney, said he is annoyed that his daughter has to pay to attend university while the Government spent millions of taxpayers’ money on migrant hotels. The 43-year-old construction worker added that, since he was young, he has “integrated with every walk of life”, but “this is actually an invasion.”
It seems that the idea of providing migrants with free accommodation in their communities is stretching locals’ tolerance just a little bit too far across the country.
This is exacerbated by accusations of crimes, such as Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. These concerns seemed to be being dismissed outright by counter-protesters, such as people from the Stand Up to Racism campaign group who turned up to oppose anti-migrant activists outside the Britannia. They suggested that it is not seen as if a white person does something wrong, which is “clearly racism”.
Another protester, Dr Anna Livingstone, 73, emphasised that she had worked with Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany early on in her medical career. She also called people on the other side of the road “far-right” and “hypocrites” with a “history of violence”. The former GP thinks society has regressed. “We’re now back to a situation where nobody is safe in the street,” she said.
Metal fencing was erected outside the Britannia Hotel. (Image: Getty)
And, I have to admit, I share her concern that we seem to have gone backwards, to an extent. Attending the protest was a stark reminder, not that one was needed, that our country is deeply divided, and has been for many years. This has only got worse of late, with differences in outlooks only becoming more ingrained. Dr Livingstone called her opponents, some of whom were masked and hoisting a flag calling for the return of hanging, which did not help their cause, “out of their minds”.
Anti-migrant protesters were calling counter activists “paedophile protectors”. The SUTR crew (a lot of whom were not keen on talking to me as I was apparently “part of the problem”) called their opposite numbers “scum”, hypocritically dehumanising the people who they say are guilty of dehumanising asylum seekers, and chanted: “Let in every refugee, throw the Nazis in the sea”.
Godwin’s Law suggests that, as online discussions lengthen, the probability of a Hitler or National Socialism comparison approaches one. This is also often evident in real life, and it helps no one. Juvenile name-calling will do nothing to ensure communities across the UK feel at ease with newcomers, nor is it in the interests of the asylum seekers, who, after all, also need to be made to feel safe and protected.
Empathy is in short supply at present, and actually listening to the other side’s concerns, rather than dismissing them outright, may not be the worst idea. I left the protest as the sun descended, feeling hopeless. It would be great if it turns out that I was being overdramatic, and things improve.
