Two-thirds of London’s councils have called on the home secretary to change the Government’s policy on housing asylum seekers in hotels.
A joint letter to Suella Braverman has been led by the Royal Borough of Greenwich and co-signed by 21 other London borough councils.
It follows concern over the removal of 100 asylum seekers from a hotel in Greenwich against their will last month.
There were protests as about 40 asylum seekers refused to move from the Greenwich hotel to one in Dunstable in Bedfordshire.
The joint letter calls on the Home Office to treat asylum seekers with care and compassion and not to uproot them at short notice from communities where they are settled.
It urges the Government to improve communication with councils, ensure asylum seekers’ basic needs are met, and find longer-term housing solutions for them rather than using hotels.
Anthony Okereke, the leader of Greenwich council, said: ‘It is appalling that people who have spent months and sometimes years rebuilding their lives, studying, volunteering and establishing community links, are now being removed and placed miles away from their new homes against their wishes.’
