False online rumours spark protests outside Canary Wharf hotel earmarked for migrants
Protests outside hotel caused by fake rumours online
- Protesters gathered at an empty hotel in London's financial district following false online rumours that it was being used to house migrants from the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
- The Home Office confirmed the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf is earmarked for migrants at £81 per night, but clarified that asylum seekers are not being moved from the Bell Hotel, which has been the scene of violent protests.
- Far-right activist Tommy Robinson and Reform MP Lee Anderson were among those who spread misinformation, with Mr Anderson attending the protest and warning of an 'influx of illegal migrants'.
- Violent disorder at the Bell Hotel in Epping led to 10 arrests, injuries to a police officer, and attacks on security guards, sparked by an asylum seeker being charged with sexual assault.
- Charities criticised politicians for spreading misinformation and stoking division, while Angela Rayner warned of potential summer riots, a view criticised by Michael Gove.