Police move in to arrest Peckham protesters blocking bus removing migrants after 'tyres slashed'
2 May 2024, 14:18
Police have moved to arrest protesters in Peckham trying to block a bus thought to be taking migrants to the Bibby Stockholm barge.
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Activist groups sat on the ground, piled up e-bikes and even slashed its tyres, according to the Home Office.
The protesters claimed that asylum seekers being housed in the Best Western Hotel in south-east London were to be placed on coaches and transported to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset on Thursday.
Around 30 police officers arrived on the scene on Thursday afternoon and moved to arrest protesters and drag them away, although dozens more remained seated on the ground.
Protesters were also seen shouting at officers and trying to block police vans.
Police arresting protesters blocking Peckham migrant bus
One officer said: "Obstruction of a highway is one thing, but obstruction of police in their duty is a very serious offence and if that continues, we will arrest you."
The Home Office slammed the "intimidatory" tactics used by protesters. Downing Street urged protesters to let officials do their jobs.
”[The Prime Minister] would urge people to allow Home Office enforcement officers to carry out their duties,” a spokesman for No 10 said.
“He obviously fully supports the authorities and the police to do what is necessary to ensure that the operation is able to be carried out successfully.”
He added: “The Prime Minister’s message is that the reason we have introduced this scheme is because we want to provide a deterrent and stop the people smuggling gangs from exploiting people and risking lives as people make these dangerous journeys across the channel - we want to put an end to that, we want to stop the boats and that is what this scheme is designed to do.”
The Bibby Stockholm arrived at the docks in Dorset last July as part of the government’s efforts to cut costs from housing migrants in hotels.
More than 500 migrants are expected to be housed on the Bibby Stockholm, although the barge was hit by trouble last year after its first group of migrants had to be evacuated after legionella bacteria was discovered on board.
It is understood those being relocated to the barge are not prospective Rwanda deportees and will be held at the site until their asylum applications are processed.
Photos show crowds of people surrounding a coach parked outside the hotel, allegedly intended to transport the migrants, in an effort to prevent them from being able to board the vehicle.
Video footage obtained by LBC shows masked protesters lining the coach while chanting 'we shall not be moved'.
Read more: ‘Ex-Gurkha’ deployed at London’s flagship Greggs as shoplifters brazenly target bakery chain
Protesters gather outside a London hotel following reported plans to 'remove migrants'
Alex Shaw, from The Movement For Justice By Any Means Necessary, told us: “What we’ve done is we’ve surrounded the vehicle, stopped it from moving, so we’re not letting it go until we get confirmation from the Home Office that the remaining asylum seekers who are due to go on the bus, their removal has been cancelled.
“We’ve got hundreds of people from the local community here, we’ve surrounded the bus and we’re keeping it here until we get confirmation.
“We’ve found out this bus was due to go to a number of hotels to pick up other refugees to put them on the barge, so us delaying this coach helps those people.”
The Home Office has reportedly cancelled the plans, however this is yet to be officially confirmed.
Two members of security staff are reportedly stood guard outside the hotel gates, while police officers are patrolling the surrounding area.
Steph Neville, a protester in Solihull, told an LBC reporter on Monday that between five and six people have allegedly been detained and taken to Colnbrook Immigration Centre over the last few days.
On Wednesday, the Home Office recorded the highest number of daily migrant Channel crossings in a single day so far this year.
Provisional figures show some 14 boats were detected making the journey on Wednesday, bringing an average of around 51 people per boat.
This brings the total number of small boat arrivals in the UK this year to an estimated total of 8,278 - 34% higher than the total equivalent point last year.
A Home Office spokesperson said in an updated statement on Thursday: “This behaviour is intimidatory and aggressive. As part of our commitment to significantly reducing the use of hotels, asylum seekers are being moved into alternative accommodation to reduce costs on the taxpayer.
“We have returned 150 hotels to local communities and we work closely with accommodation providers to manage the exit process in a way which limits the impact on local authorities and asylum seeker.”
An earlier statement read: “Accommodation is allocated to asylum seekers on a no-choice basis and asylum seekers can make representations if they believe they are unsuitable to be moved to the Bibby Stockholm. These are considered in full before any decision is made.
“We continue to deliver our plans to significantly reduce the use of asylum hotels, closing 150 by beginning of May, and work closely with accommodation providers to manage the exit process in a way which limits the impact on local authorities and asylum seekers alike.”
