Stop using seafront hotel for asylum seekers - MP

An MP has again urged a hotel chain and the Home Office to stop housing asylum seekers in a seaside hotel

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb said "the location and the facilities" of the Metropole Hotel were "wholly inadequate for the purpose of housing asylum seekers".

The Labour MP said he heard "heartbreaking accounts of people in dangerous and potentially life-threatening conditions, and I'm extremely concerned that the situation is a tragedy waiting to happen".

Home Office contractor Serco, which met Mr Webb on Monday, said staff treated everyone at the hotel "with respect and dignity", adding that "their safety and well-being is our top priority, including providing regular, balanced meals".

Serco is contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.

A company spokesman said: "We believe this hotel is safe and well-run, and we have met with MP Chris Webb to discuss his concerns."

The BBC has also asked for a response to Webb's comments from Labour-run Blackpool Council, the Home Office, and the Metropole's owner, Britannia Hotels.

The hotel, near the North Pier on Blackpool Promenade, was commissioned in 2021 - under the previous Conservative government - to house asylum seekers for three months.

Webb said hundreds of vulnerable families, including many pregnant women, were still being housed there.

In the autumn, the MP first questioned whether it was appropriate to house so many vulnerable people in such a prominent location.

Blackpool witnessed violent disorder last summer after three girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in nearby Southport.

In the days that followed the attack, false claims spread online that their killer was an asylum seeker.

Convicted killer Axel Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in 2006 and moved to Banks, near Southport, in 2013.

On Monday, Webb alleged Serco was failing to take adequate security measures or provide adequate care of at least 500 vulnerable people with a number of complex needs.

He said: "I am hearing directly from asylum seekers in the hotel about the alleged mistreatment they are suffering, including a lack of access to food, poor hygiene standards, a lack of fire procedure, alleged verbal abuse, and the psychological torment of being housed in such an unstable and unsuitable environment."

The Labour MP stressed: "It's not just about offering shelter – it's about providing a safe and supportive environment for those who have fled violence, persecution and war.

"Blackpool has a proud tradition of hospitality, but we must ensure that we are equipped to meet such critical needs."

Paul Galley, leader of the Blackpool Conservative group, said that "hotels are not the place to house asylum seekers and it's causing widespread anger".

He added: "I fear Labour's soft approach to immigration and its failure to even start to fulfil its pledge to stop the people-smuggling gangs, will see more hotels in Blackpool being used to house [more asylum seekers]."

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