Thousands of migrants living at luxury hotels with Brits forking out £6.8m a day to house them
THOUSANDS of asylum seekers and Channel migrants are living in four and five star luxury at British taxpayers’ expense, The Sun can reveal.
One in four of the hotels used to house them are rated in the top brackets denoting class and some high-end resorts nationwide are blocked booked for months.
Home Office officials are “sitting refreshing booking.com” in the hunt for more capacity, a source said, pushing up prices for Brits looking to go away at Christmas and the New Year as supply dwindles.
PM Rishi Sunak said 4,500 more hotel beds were acquired to help meet the need since September — as councils providing accommodation warned of being at “breaking point”.
Taxpayers are being stung for £6.8million a day — or £2.4billion a year — to keep 35,000 people awaiting deportation in UK hotels.
One Home Office-hired hotel is four-star Great Hallingbury Manor in Essex where more than 50 men are living on full board, with some complaining about the food.
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The Tudor-style property has 44 double rooms, 20 rooms in chalets in its wooded grounds and its own lake, picnic area and barbeque.
A note on the door reads: “Our hotel is closed to the public. Apologies for any inconvenience.”
One worker at the £120-a-night venue said: “It happened very suddenly at the end of last week when were were told that the refugees would be arriving and staying for up to two months.
“There are about 50 men, all between 20 to 40 from North Africa, and two people looking after them.
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“They have the run of the hotel — the bedrooms are very comfortable — and three meals a day. Some have complained about the food because it’s not what they’re used to.
“They spend their time walking about or playing football. Language is a problem but they don’t say much. They tend to keep themselves to themselves.”
The Dolphin Inn beside the River Great Ouse in St Ives, Cambs, is another occupied hotel, with dozens of Afghans and asylum seekers from other countries living there.
Inside the hotel, which has a glorious view oppostive a 15th century bridge, they could be seen enjoying digital big-screen TVs and using gym gear moved into their rooms.
One local said: “People used to spend a fortune to stay here or live along river so they’re doing very well. It’s more like a student halls of residence now.”
The Home Office insisted that Home Secretary Suella Braverman had been “crystal clear” that the excessive use of hotels to house asylum seekers was unacceptable and she is “working to reduce costs to the taxpayer”.
A spokesman said: “Many hotels are self-rated or rated on the services they provide paying guests.
“When people are moved to hotel accommodation, most of the hotel’s facilities, such as pools, spas and gyms, will not be available for use.”
Meanwhile, Albania’s PM Edi Rama slammed the UK for blaming the migrant crisis on his country — despite a quarter of small boat crossers being Albanian.
He tweeted: “UK should fight the crime gangs of all nationalities and stop discriminating v Albanians to excuse policy failures.”
It came as 400 men, women and children were moved from RAF Manston yesterday to ease overcrowding at the packed 1,600- capacity immigration centre.
Some 3,700 people are now held there.
Council chiefs in Kent warn there is a potential for disorder at the facility near Ramsgate.
In a letter to Ms Braverman, they urged the government to stop using the county as an “easy fix for what is a national, strategic issue”.
They warned of a “critical” situation as tension mounts among detainees sleeping on roll mats in marquees as winter nears amid outbreaks of Covid, scabies and diphtheria.
One girl threw a bottle containing a letter over a perimeter fence yesterday which described the facility as like a prison.
It said some of the women were pregnant.
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent City Council lost a bid to continue a High Court injunction to stop asylum-seekers staying at a hotel.
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The council barred the use of the North Stafford Hotel near Stoke railway station, claiming the move breached planning rules.
The Home Office had contacted the authority with a proposal to use the site.
Ships idea not sunk
PLANS to hold asylum seekers on cruise ships as they await a decision could be back on the table.
Rishi Sunak’s spokesman had said earlier in the week there were “no plans” to proceed with an idea he had mentioned during the summer leadership campaign.
But yesterday, No 10 changed course again and refused to rule it out, saying the PM would discuss specific measures with Home Secretary Suella Braverman in due course.
The policy was originally floated during the Covid pandemic when cruise ships were empty.
But government lawyers warned it would not be possible as they could not detain asylum seekers on a ship if there was not a “realistic prospect of removal”.
It could also cost huge amounts rather than saving money on the £6.8million being spent per day on hotels.
