Members of the far-right, Islamophobic group Britain First have been hounding refugees staying in hotels as part of their anti-migrant campaign.
In a video posted online the far-right activists filmed themselves randomly knocking on doors in the Daresbury Park Hotel in Warrington and then interrogating anyone who answered.
At one point a Britain First member confronted an Iranian guest in the lobby of the hotel and ranted about his taxes being spent on the man’s accommodation.
The cameraman also mocked a Libyan man in the video, comparing his hairstyle to the one sported by Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Britain First also interrogated refugees outside the building.
Another new Britain First video shows members storming a Novotel in Newcastle and once again interrogating refugees.
However, workers at the hotel managed to usher the refugees away and the far-right activists eventually left the property.
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A spokesman for Cheshire Police said that officers were called to reports of a potential breach of the peace at the Warrington hotel. By the time the police arrived the group had left and no complaints were made to officers by anyone at the hotel.
The force said enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
Jenni Halliday, Serco’s contract director for asylum accommodation and support, said: “Serco was shocked and appalled at this racist attack on a hotel where we are accommodating asylum seekers.
“At the same time, we are very proud of the swift response of our employees who were on duty at the hotel. They dialled 999 to summon the police who arrived quickly and, in the meantime, took every measure possible to protect the residents and themselves in the face of an aggressive group of men who forced their way in through a fire door.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers extremely seriously. Any violence or abuse directed towards asylum seekers is completely unacceptable.”
Earlier this year the leader of Britain First, Paul Golding, was convicted of a terror offence after refusing to comply with a Schedule 7 stop in 2019.
Golding refused to hand police the passwords to his phone, laptop hard drive after being stopped at Heathrow Airport in October.
The organisation, whose leaders were jailed in 2018 for hate crimes against Muslims describes itself as a “patriotic political party that will put our own people first.”
It has protested against the construction or extension of mosques and wants halal meat to be banned.
