Asylum seekers at a London hotel have been left in limbo after being told their accommodation will close in December, with no firm details on where they will be relocated. The Thistle Barbican Hotel in Islington is one of hundreds of hotels being phased out as the Government seeks to cut costs by moving away from using hotels for asylum seekers.
The Home Office has confirmed it will consider placing asylum seekers in disused accommodation, industrial sites and former military bases to “reduce the impact on communities”. The Government has pledged to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029, saving an estimated £1bn a year, although the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that housing asylum seekers will cost £15.3bn over the next decade.
Karim, an Afghan asylum seeker who fled the Taliban for continuing to teach girls, said residents are deeply anxious. “There’s so much uncertainty. Some who are taking tablets for anxiety and mental illnesses are especially worried,” he told The i Paper. He added that the prospect of being moved to a military base is “traumatising” for those who have escaped war and persecution.
Charities have criticised the plans, warning that moving asylum seekers from hotels to camps would be exchanging one failed approach for another. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “By moving from asylum hotels to asylum camps, the Government would be exchanging one failed approach with another.” The NAO has also reported that using large sites such as barracks will cost £46m more than hotels.
Residents at the Thistle Barbican were given only a few days’ notice of the closure, with charity workers pointing to “chaotic” planning in previous hotel closures. Some residents at a similar hotel in King’s Cross were given just 24 hours’ notice of their relocation. Karim said: “We haven’t been told anything. They’ve just said they will give us a few days notice. It’s difficult for people who have been living here for months or years.”
The Refugee Council has proposed an alternative scheme to end hotel use without resorting to camps, by granting temporary permission to stay to those from countries where refugee status is almost certain. “This would enable people who will ultimately remain in the UK to be able to get on with their lives,” said Solomon.
