Police preparing for protests outside Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers

Members of anti-immigration groups Patriotic Alternative and English Constitution Party are planning to take part in a protest outside Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on Saturday afternoon.

A counter-protest has also been planned by Stand Up To Racism, Rotherham Trades Council and Unite Against Fascism.

In a joint statement, the groups said it will be “a peaceful protest” against groups “who are targeting refugees”.

“We need to send a message to them that refugees are welcome in our town,” they added.

It comes after 15 people, including a 13-year-old boy, were arrested when a demonstration turned violent outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, which houses asylum seekers, on Friday night.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Our neighbourhood officers are engaging with the local community ahead of a planned protest in Manvers, Rotherham on Saturday.

“We are working to minimise the disruption to local residents, businesses and traffic.

“Our liaison officers will be in attendance on Saturday, respecting the right to peacefully protest, and balancing this with the rights of local communities.”

Around 130 asylum seekers were moved from the Ibis in Bramley to the Holiday Inn hotel in Manvers last year.

It comes as several charities have called on politicians to “take a clear stand” and condemn violence against asylum seekers, following the violent clashes in Knowsley.

The open letter, co-ordinated by coalition campaign Together With Refugees, criticised “inflammatory language” and policies that “demonise” people seeking refuge, and warned of a “high risk of more premeditated extremist attacks around the country”.

The letter has more than 100 signatories, including Liverpool City of Sanctuary, Care4Calais, Share Knowsley and the Refugee Council.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has faced repeated criticism for her rhetoric describing migrants crossing the English Channel.

She prompted an outcry in November when she told MPs that the south coast was facing an “invasion” of illegal migrants.

The charities said people in the asylum system “have already suffered terribly”, fleeing war and persecution in places like Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Iran.

Describing Britain’s asylum system as “broken”, the organisations said people are forced into a period of “limbo” as they wait for a decision on their claim to stay in the UK, and end up in hotels which they called “a completely inappropriate form of accommodation”.

The charities called on those in charge to “create a system that is fair and compassionate, and brings cohesion instead of division”.

They said: “Having already experienced great hardship, these men, women and children who come here for protection are now faced with violence, fuelled by inflammatory language of ‘invasion’ and policies that demonise them.

“The responsibility to create a system that is fair and compassionate, and brings cohesion instead of division, lies with our decision makers.

“With the high risk of more premeditated extremist attacks around the country, leaders of all parties must now take a clear stand and condemn any further violence against those who come here to find safety, and set out the action they will take to prevent it.”