Hundreds of ‘Pink Lady’ anti-migrant protesters have descended on Westminster today in a fresh demonstration against asylum hotels.
Photos show the women holding Union Jack flags and wearing pink t-shirts with the slogan ‘British Women First’.
The group, which is a faction within the wider anti-migrant movement, are seeking to highlight the perceived danger to women and girls by those seeking asylum.
Counter-demonstrators also gathered outside Parliament this afternoon, chanting ‘say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here’ and ‘stop the fascists now, now, now’.
Margaret Collins, 67, from Epping – a town in Essex which has become the focal point of anti-migrant protests this summer – said she was going to be ‘loud and proud’ at the event.
The retired accountant said: ‘This is about sending a message that mass immigration has not worked and the country is poorer for it.
‘Women are terrified to go out alone near migrant hotels. It doesn’t matter where in the country, it’s the same story.
‘It’s shocking. There needs to be real change.’
Sarah White, the organiser of the protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, gave a speech to the crowd.
She is currently on bail after being arrested outside Epping Forest District Council offices when she draped a Union Jack flag on the building.
Ms White has been accused of breaching a Section 14 order, which was put in place by police to designate where people could assemble.
She told the crowds at the protest today: ‘We are professional people. We are law-abiding citizens, citizens, taxpayers, and we want a better community for our families, and that’s what it’s all about.
‘We are mothers. We are not far right, we are just for the right cause.
‘We are peacefully protesting in Epping until the Bell Hotel is closed because it’s inappropriately next to a secondary school.
‘The ladies here are from across the country and similar issues, we all have these hotels popping up in our communities and we don’t feel safe. We’re scared.’
The Bell Hotel, which houses around 150 asylum seekers, has been the target of a series of protests after a resident living there was charged and later convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 41, tried to kiss the 14-year-old as she sat eating pizza with friends on a bench after school.
Mother Orla Minihane, who is also from Epping, said: ‘This is a mass gathering of right-minded women who have had enough.
‘We’ve had enough of being scared.
‘We’ve had enough of having to change our behaviour because we’re worried about unknown men living in these hotels.’
Meanwhile, Carol-Ann Jones said she attended the demonstration to ‘take a stand’.
She said: ‘Today is about telling the people in power we have had enough and we’re not going anywhere.
‘Enough is enough.’
Sarah Deighton, 56, from Welling, Kent, added: ‘I have been to the Epping protests. I have been to others as well.
‘We won’t stop until all of these are closed down. We’ve had enough. Today is peaceful. But we’ve had enough.’
It comes after it emerged last week that anti-immigration protests in Epping alone have cost the police more than £1.5million.
Clashes there intensified last month after the Government won a court challenge allowing asylum seekers to keep being housed at the Essex hotel.
The Court of Appeal overturned a temporary High Court injunction which would have forced the 138 asylum seekers there to leave by September 12.
Epping Forest District Council had argued site owner Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by not notifying Epping of its plans for the Bell.
However, the authority could still be granted a full injunction should it be successful at a three-day hearing starting on October 15 in London.
The decision to rule in favour of the hotel chain and Home Office sparked outrage, with protests spreading to cities across the UK amid accusations the government was ‘taking the side of migrants over Britons’.
Several other councils across the UK have since vowed to take legal action to kick asylum seekers out of hotels following the ruling.
Labour-run councils, such as Wirral, Stevenage, Tamworth and Rushmoor are among those continuing to storm ahead with plans to launch legal bids against the government.
Read more
- How has Labour’s controversial asylum hotel win sparked fury and protests in Epping?
- What led to the fiery protests at Epping’s Bell Hotel and how are they escalating tensions around the UK’s asylum policy?
- What sparked violent protests outside Epping’s Bell Hotel after a dramatic court ruling allowed asylum seekers to stay?
- Why has The Bell Hotel in Epping become a flashpoint for anti-migrant protests and what sparked its latest violent clashes?
- Is Britain on the brink of legal upheaval as councils rally against asylum hotels post-Epping ruling?
