The Home Office has responded to reports of migrants being placed in the Home Secretary’s constituency, calling the situation an “error”.
The comments come after Nigel Farage, who has been cataloguing the extent of the illegal migrant crisis occurring in Britain, visited a hotel in Priti Patel’s constituency of Witham, which was said to have been housing illegal immigrants.
In the video, Mr Farage is seen walking up to the front desk of the Rivenhall Hotel and asking for room availability. The person at the front desk then informs him that there are no available rooms. He is then asked to leave by a member of staff at the hotel, who stated that the hotel was private property.
Nigel Farage also attacked Patel in the video, saying that this revelation was “embarrassing” considering Patel has led the charge to stop the illegal border crossings. He also accused her of “taking Britons for a ride”.
Priti Patel has said in the past that: “The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling and unacceptably high. The figures are shameful. France and other EU states are safe countries. Genuine refugees should claim asylum there, not risk their lives and break the law by coming to the UK.”[1]
A Home Office spokeswoman responded to the video, saying: “On Friday afternoon [14 August], the Home Office became aware that an error was made in placing asylum seekers.
“This error was the result of operational failures where the correct policy and procedures were not followed.
“The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation. But they should be placed in major conurbations wherever possible, so that appropriate support and services can be more readily provided.
“As this is not the case in this instance, alternative accommodation provision has since been sought in accordance with the Immigration Asylum Act 1999 and the Asylum Support Regulations 2000.
“A full review of this operation is now being conducted.”
The spokeswoman also said that Priti Patel had not been informed about the decision to house migrants in her constituency.
[1] https://twitter.com/pritipatel/status/1291713611212247041
