Peckham: Arrests after protesters thwart asylum seekers' coach transfer

Forty five people have been arrested after protesters and police clashed during a protest in south London over the planned transfer of asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.

Activists surrounded a coach at a hotel in Peckham at about 08:40 BST.

At about 15:00 it was driven away from the hotel seemingly without passengers.

It comes as 711 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats on Wednesday, the highest number on a single day so far this year.

The Met Police has said that during the protest, some of its officers reported being assaulted.

The arrests were for offences including obstruction of the highway, obstructing police and assault on police.

One arrest was made for a racially aggravated public order offence but this person was not part of the protest group, the Met said.

A Home Office spokesperson described the protesters' behaviour as "intimidatory and aggressive".

They said: "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. Accommodation is allocated to asylum seekers on a no-choice basis."

The spokesperson said: "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."

Many of the protesters were sitting in the road, chanting.

They said that Bibby Stockholm was not a suitable place to house asylum seekers, and those due to be taken there had built relations in the community in Peckham and did not want to be moved.

The Home Office abandoned plans to move a group of asylum seekers to the Bibby barge in the wake of protests in Margate last week.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a post on X: "Housing migrants in hotels costs the British taxpayer millions of pounds every day.

"We will not allow this small group of students, posing for social media, to deter us from doing what is right for the British public."

By about 14:00, a crowd of some 150 people remained at the scene, with chants of "We shall not be moved" ringing out.

"This is what community looks like," and "No borders, no nations, stop deportations," were among other chants made by those gathered.

At one point, eight police vehicles were parked at the scene, as well as three riots vans.

The road was closed to traffic in both directions.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a social media post: "My officers were quickly on scene and have engaged with the protesters at length."

He added: "We will always respect the right to peaceful protest but we have been clear that where there is serious disruption and criminality then we will take decisive action.

"It saddens me greatly to say that a number of officers have been assaulted in the course of their duty following an incident in Peckham today where they sought to uphold the law."

The Home Office said it was planning to close 150 asylum seeker hotels by the beginning of May.

A spokesperson said they were working "closely with accommodation providers to manage the exit process in a way which limits the impact on local authorities and asylum seekers alike".

On Wednesday, some 14 small boats were detected crossing the English Channel.

Provisional figures, external from the Home Office, show that more than 8,000 people have arrived in the UK by small boats so far this year.

This is 34% higher than the total at the equivalent time last year.

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