Dozens of refugees ‘left on the streets’ for two nights

Suella Braverman has been asked to “urgently clarify” why a large group of asylum seekers were “left on the street” in Westminster for two nights running.

In a letter to the Home Secretary, the leader of Westminster City Council expressed his “deep concern” that around 40 refugees were placed in the borough on Wednesday night “without appropriate accommodation or support available” and no prior communication with the local authority.

The group apparently refused to enter a Pimlico hotel where the Home Office had asked them to sleep “four people per room”.

On Friday (June 2) morning, around 20 people remained outside the Comfort Inn in protest at the cramped conditions inside, according to the council, with pictures showing suitcases and blankets strewn across the pavement.

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Council leader Adam Hug complained that asking people who “are likely to have been through significant and traumatic events” to share “an inappropriately-sized room with multiple strangers defies common sense and basic decency”.

He said the Government’s demand created “safeguarding and health risks”, and noted that “leaving them on the street for multiple nights is not an alternative”.