Far right retreats from hotel intimidation
The far right activists who attempted for five weeks to harass asylum seekers living in a hotel near Exeter backed away on Saturday. Two far-right councillors (one from Reform UK, another ex-Reform) had managed to get into the hotel, and discovered that the far-right story that the hotel was full of young men was untrue. The ‘protestors’ then used this as an excuse to move their action to Cathedral Green in Exeter.
This is a victory for those of us who took part in counterprotests (disclosure: I only went once). But far-right activists, even if councillors, should never have been admitted to a hotel housing vulnerable asylum seekers. And if there had been young men in the hotel, they would still have deserved protection. It is outrageous for extremists like Nigel Farage to stigmatise ‘young men’. They are often those who are most vulnerable under dictatorial regimes and in wars. Most who come here are granted asylum. No refugees should be targeted by the far right in the UK.
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 