0:00
and they're being put up in hotels
0:02
Are you heartened by what happened in Epping to the Bell Hotel
0:08
And I believe Kemi Badenock is saying, gather yourselves and try it elsewhere
0:14
challenge other hotels that are holding migrants. Yeah, that is exactly what Kemi is saying, and she's right to do so
0:23
Epping, obviously a Conservative-led council, has sort of started this with their successful challenge
0:28
and many other Conservative councils are now looking at doing the same
0:33
including Broxbourne next door, Hillingdon, Reigate and many others, because they are sick and tired, rightly, understandably sick and tired
0:43
of these asylum hotels housing mainly young men, pretty much all of whom cross the channel illegally and unnecessarily
0:52
And, of course, we've seen reporting of some of the crimes being committed. Hundreds and hundreds of migrants in these hotels have been charged with criminal offences
1:01
including the sexual assault of young girls. So people are understandably angry
1:05
And that is why other Conservative-led councils will be, I think, mounting legal challenges as well
1:11
supported by us nationally, by me and by Kemi. But briefly, Mr Filks, we are out of time with you
1:18
Do you need to be careful for what you wish for and what these councils across the country are wishing for because if asylum seekers are moved out of hotels but then moved into houses of multiple occupancy or moved into social housing homes that British people need I mean
1:32
that's not the right answer either, is it? No, it's not. And in fact, I wrote to Yvette Cooper
1:38
just yesterday asking for her assurance that people being moved out of the Epping Hotel
1:43
about 150 people, I believe, should not be moved into flats or into HMOs. Because exactly as you
1:50
say there are young people here in this country struggling to get onto the housing ladder
1:54
struggling to find affordable accommodation. And it would be deeply, deeply unfair
1:58
if apartments and rooms that they might rent, British young people might rent
2:03
get instead given to illegal immigrants for free. There are other accommodation options
2:08
We had a barge in the past. You can put up prefabricated temporary accommodation on empty
2:14
sites, all kinds of options the government should be pursuing. They should not be moving people into
2:19
apartments and HMOs and I will be tracking the data very carefully to make sure they don't do
2:24
that. I am very suspicious that what the government planned to do is move people out of hotels and
2:30
into those flats but that would be completely wrong because there are lots of young people here
2:34
who need those apartments. But let's not forget the reason this is a problem is that Labour has
2:39
lost control of our borders and the numbers crossing the channel are the worst in history
2:43
That is the root cause of this because the government is too weak to take the action needed
2:47
to fix this. Shadow Home Secretary, thanks for your views this morning
2:51
Appreciate your time. Thank you very much
