BRITAIN’S borders fiasco worsened today when the Home Office took over a four-star hotel that costs tourists up to £425 a night.
Rooms at the Britannia International, which boasts “superb views over London”, are being readied for asylum seekers at taxpayers’ expense in anticipation of a summer surge in Channel crossings.
Ray CollinsA luxury £425 a night London hotel funded by taxpayers has been handed over to house asylum seekers[/caption]
The Britannia International — in flash financial district Canary Wharf
The move was last night branded an “insult”.
Residents and business owners said they fear for their safety, and that it would attract protests.
A demo was held there on Tuesday and yesterday police guarded the hotel, while a fence had been thrown up around its entrance.
Workers hauled beds inside, as Tower Hamlets Council confirmed it would be used for migrants — and said they should get the “full package of support”.
Britannia Hotels has hailed its biggest and flagship residence — as a “modern, glass-fronted building close to the internationally famous business district”.
When open to the public, a standard room can cost as much as £425 a night.
They are said to have “superb views over London”.
The hotel offers two restaurants and bars, making it the “perfect base for a city break”.
Amenities include a games room with a pool table and gym.
It is unclear if migrants will be allowed to use them.
An indoor pool and sauna are thought to have been shut down.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Sun: “It is outrageous that the Government is splurging taxpayers’ hard-earned money on luxury hotels for illegal immigrants when most people in this country would struggle to afford a hotel in central London.
“This is one of the most luxurious hotels people can only dream of staying in, right in the heart of London’s financial centre.
“No wonder illegal immigrants are flooding across the channel in record numbers when this weak Labour government welcomes them with hotel accommodation funded by hard-working taxpayers.
“This is an insult to law-abiding citizens.
“The Government must urgently act to deport every single illegal arrival, then the crossings would rapidly stop but Keir Starmer is too weak to do this.”
Susan Hall, Tory leader in London’s City Hall, added: “It’s incredible that four-star hotels like this are being used to house migrants.
“This move will damage every small firm in Canary Wharf trying to survive.
“Women and children, I can tell you, don’t feel safe around these hotels in London.
“It shows things are getting worse and worse for hard-working Brits, who are trying to keep their families going.
“This is the damage it is doing to society, and I think it is going to cause a really serious problem.”
Some 23,534 migrants have already arrived on small boats this year — 48 per cent higher than this time in 2024.
Sources indicated the International will remain empty until necessary, with the Home Office striking a deal to rent 400 rooms for £81 a night.
Britannia Hotel
The Britannia International Hotel is a modern, glass-fronted building close to the internationally famous business district.
It sports superb views over the London skyline, two on-site restaurants, bars and en-suite bedrooms, making it the perfect base for a city break.
It means the weekly bill for the hotel could be up to £226,800 if every room is used.
Yesterday labourers were seen carrying mattresses into the hotel shortly after 8am.
A team flanked by private security also brought in metal bed frames and a pallet of orange juice and food.
We’ve lost our jobs at the hotel. We are taxpayers and have done nothing wrong
Cleaner at the hotel
It is thought agency staff have been drafted in to run it, with existing contractors let go.
A cleaner and mum of two arrived for her last shift yesterday and said: “I don’t think it’s right that I and all the staff have been given redundancy letters.
“We are taxpayers and have done nothing wrong.
“Now we will struggle to make ends meet.
“We are gutted.”
On Tuesday 150 anti-migrant activists protested outside the International until 9pm.
Just five took part in a counter protest.
Some flocked there amid false rumours circulated by far-right thug Tommy Robinson that migrants had arrived there from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex — also the scene of demos.
Around 50 cops were drafted in to Canary Wharf, with no arrests.
SelwynPicsWorkers hauled beds inside, as Tower Hamlets Council confirmed it would be used for migrants[/caption]
Booking.comInside the expensive hotel[/caption]
Reform’s chief whip Lee Anderson was at the International demo and said he was “absolutely furious” at the hotel’s closure.
The MP added: “This hotel here — it must cost a couple of hundred quid a night to stay there.
“Most normal people in this country would not be able to afford to stay here for a weekend, but we have illegals coming here.”
Yesterday local homeowners told of their fears that a migrant hotel would tank property values.
Software engineer Matt, who declined to give his surname, said: “The houses here go for £1million, though probably not any more.
“I’m really worried about house prices going down.
“Now seems a bad time to sell up.”
Mary, 58, who lives five minutes away, fumed: “This used to be the best place in the world but it’s gone to the dogs.
“I struggle on my pension.
“I paid taxes all my life. And they are in a four-star hotel?”
It is thought there are 210 asylum hotels in the UK.
It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel
The council
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have pledged to cut their use entirely by 2029.
The Britannia Hotel group was approached for comment.
It has a portfolio of 64 UK hotels and is a major provider of asylum accommodation.
A cost-cutting drive has seen the average price of a migrant hotel room fall to £118.87, down from £162.16 in March 2023.
Last month we told how the annual asylum support bill of £4.7billion was equivalent to the annual taxes forked out by a city the size of Manchester.
Tower Hamlets Council said: “We are aware of the Government’s decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
“It is important the Government ensures there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel.
“We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place.”
The Home Office said: “We inherited a broken asylum system from the Tories with costs spiralling out of control.
“As part of the plan to restore order and close all asylum hotels by the end of the parliament, we are boosting border security, substantially increasing removals of those with no right to be here.
“We are also tackling the Tories’ wasteful contracts by ending the use of more expensive accommodation and moving to cheaper options.”
UKNIPAnti-migrant demonstrators at the hotel on Tuesday evening[/caption]
Ray CollinsPolice officers guard the hotel entrance[/caption]
SelwynPicsMattresses are taken into the swanky establishment[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
