Boy, 14, among four charged with violent disorder over asylum seeker hotel riot

Charges announced as union officials blame home secretary for increasing risk to Home Office staff

A burnt-out police van after a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside (PA )

A 14-year-old boy is among four people charged over a riot at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Merseyside.

A police van was set on fire as missiles were thrown at police officers outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley on 10 February, after a protest spiralled into violence.

Paul Lafferty, 42, of Northwood, John Tippler, 59, of Northwood, Christopher Shelley, aged 44, of Southdene and a 14-year-old boy from Kirkby have been charged with violent disorder and will appear in court next month.

The disorder followed years of rising protest activity targeting hotels that have been increasingly used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers because of a shortage of proper accommodation.

Counter-extremism group Hope Not Hate recorded 253 hotel “visits” by anti-migrant activists and far-right groups in 2022, more than double the figure seen in 2021.

A report published in March said videos widely shared on social media “attempt to generate outrage by comparing the accommodation provided to ‘foreigners’ with the situation of homeless British people, especially military veterans or speak about the cost of living crisis”.

Union officials representing workers at hotels and reception centres for asylum seekers crossing the English Channel accused ministers of increasing the threat to both residents and staff with “racist policies and rhetoric” on Wednesday.

Senior members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents more than 16,000 Home Office staff, told its annual conference in Brighton that they had issued formal warnings to the department’s permanent secretary.

Suella Braverman claimed there is an “invasion” of England by migrants crossing the Channel the day after a far-right terror attack targeting a Dover reception facility (House of Commons/PA) (PA Wire)

Paul O’Connor, the PCS head of bargaining, told The Independent letters had asked the Home Office “what they intend to do to protect our members”.

“The problem is you've got a home secretary encouraging that type of behaviour with dog whistle politics,” he added, pointing to statements by Suella Braverman where she called Channel crossings an “invasion” and said she “understand people's frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants”.

Mr O’Connor added: “It is a disgrace because it puts not only the refugees in danger, but it puts our members on the frontline in danger.”

He said a terrorist firebombing targeting a Dover reception centre in October “indicates how dangerous that rhetoric is”, warning: “It fuels the far-right mentality.”

A fringe event held at the conference saw panellists express concern about the Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to detain and deport small boat migrants, and far-right activism.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka called Ms Braverman’s statements “extraordinary”, adding: “We have seen the normalisation of politicians using language that is encouraging other people to follow suit.

“We're seeing the normalisation of policies that are so bigoted and inhumane, that it encourages people to think that this is now acceptable.

“It's got to be directly linked to why more and more people feel comfortable enough to be standing outside hotels, being racist and thinking they can get away with it.”

Research released by Hope Not Hate on Monday found that hostile social media messages discussing migration, asylum seekers and small boats “spike” following government statements on the issue.

A report said that after the home secretary announced an asylum crackdown in October, there was a 35 per cent increase in anti-migrant social media messages, and a 52 per cent increase in the use of the word “invasion” on Telegram after Ms Braverman used it in parliament.

Patrik Hermansson, senior researcher at Hope Not Hate, said: “This research is stark proof that the government is not taking the far-right threat seriously, but actively feeding it through their rhetoric.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “The Illegal Migration Bill will stop the boats by changing the law so that people who come to the UK illegally can be detained and then swiftly returned to a safe third country or their home country.

“We cannot allow a system to continue which incentivises people to risk their lives and pay people smugglers to come to this country illegally.

“The welfare of asylum seekers in our care is of the utmost importance. Together with our contractors, we work closely with the police and other agencies to protect the safety of residents and the wider community.”