Residents hit out at ‘information vacuum’ over hotel used for asylum seekers – as migrants tell of traumatic journeys
In Altrincham near Manchester asylum seekers are just settling in at the Cresta Court Hotel, many of them just days after making a treacherous journey across the English Channel.
But, as the new arrivals find sanctuary in a northern town, their presence is causing controversy.
The government said it would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers but, without warning, this one has been newly created.
Now young men are huddled in groups outside the hotel drinking coffee or smoking.
Thousands of bookings were suddenly cancelled at the hotel
In Arabic, a Kurdish man in his 20s tells me: “I’ve been here for a few days, and I haven’t faced any hostility since I arrived. In fact, they’ve shown us a lot of respect.”
In contradiction, someone shouts from a passing car: “Get back on the boats!”
About 200 yards down the road people are gathering in a church to air their concerns.
Residents have just learned about the new arrivals, and only because thousands of bookings were suddenly cancelled, along with meetings and even wedding receptions, as the hotel cleared its commitments to make way for the asylum seekers.
“There’s been an information vacuum,” says a mother of two children.
Standing to raise her objections in the public meeting, she asks if the migrants are “illegal” and if so, is the hotel “effectively an open prison” near several local girls’ schools and a nursery?
Her voice shakes as she tells the room she has already cancelled a night out with her girlfriends over safety concerns.
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Local resident Roger Roper was among those who raised objections
‘We don’t know what they are capable of’
Community police officer Colin Dytor says the men’s refugee status is a matter for the Home Office but tries to calm the room.
He adds: “I can assure you we’ve had asylum seekers in Trafford for several years and there has been no spike in crime attributed to these asylum seekers.”
Local resident Roger Roper objects, saying the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale the officer is referring to is mostly for migrant families, adding: “This is up to 300 young men. We don’t know anything about them.
“If they don’t have any papers or passports, we don’t know what they are capable of.”
Another woman says she worries about her daughter going out at night, as the men come from a country that “doesn’t value women”.
One woman worries about her daughter’s safety
There is an objection to this point from across the room by two women from a pro-refugee campaign group, but the majority applaud in approval.
The concerned resident continues: “Is there going to be a curfew or are they just going to be able to wander around after seven o’clock? Is my daughter going to be safe? No!”
Inspector Dytor responds: “We can’t just lock people up who haven’t committed a crime. We live in a very tolerant and open society, and we have to continue that.”
Community police officer Colin Dytor tries to reassure residents
‘Some of the comments online have been racist’
Further objections are raised about the cost to the town and the added pressure on already stretched GP services.
A spokesperson for Serco, which runs the hotel, tells us: “No decision has yet been made by the local authority on how healthcare will be provided to those in the hotel.”
Connor Rand, the Labour MP for Altrincham and Sale West, released a statement saying he’s been assured background checks had been done on the men by the Home Office.
Outside the church, protesters hold banners which read “Stand Up to Racism” and “Refugees Welcome in Altrincham.”
A protester who gave her first name as Jane says: “Some of the comments online have been racist. When you are saying refugees should be vetted to make sure they are not paedophiles I think that is racist.”
A pro-refugee campaign group outside the church
‘We’ve just been kept in the dark’
Back inside Gwyneth and Roger Roper say it isn’t racist to raise concerns. The couple had a Ukrainian family in their home for 14 months and say they welcome documented asylum seekers.
Gwyneth is chairperson for the chapel who provided the venue after the town hall was cancelled last minute a few days earlier.
She says: “I can’t say I agree or disagree with what’s going on because we’ve just been kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms.
“It’s wrong of local, central government and the Home Office not to consult us on something that could impact the local community.”
Councillor Nathan Evans, leader of the Trafford Conservative Group, who called the meeting, agrees, saying there has been a “wall of silence” where residents have “genuine concerns”.
He adds: “One hundred to probably 150 people stay in that hotel a night. They all go into Altrincham to spend money. That’s gone from the town. Nobody is going to compensate businesses for that.”
Asylum seekers describe treacherous journeys
Unaware of any local uproar, back at the hotel the new arrivals tell me of treacherous journeys from places such as Syria and Afghanistan.
A Kurdish man describes being trafficked through countries in the back of a lorry not knowing where he was when he got let out.
He says: “Eventually, we arrived at a beach, and the smuggler ordered me to board a boat. When I told him I was afraid of the sea, he slapped me several times. Then he reached for his gun and said, ‘You’re in a safe country now, get on the boat’.”
One young man not wanting to speak on camera says he saw people drown in the channel on his crossing as a nearby dingy sank.
Another asylum seeker, Fahad, tells of panic on his boat as waves started to beat against the vessel packed with 70 migrants, but they pressed on wanting the escape conditions in the French migrant camps.
Asylum seekers outside the Cresta Court Hotel
Heated national debate becomes local issue
The government promised it would end the use of hotels for migrants but blames this move on the Rwanda policy, which halted the asylum claims of people who arrived in the UK on small boats, causing a processing backlog.
While the thousands crossing the channel have caused heated national debate, the residents of Altrincham are learning how that sharpens when it becomes a local issue.
Mr Rand, the local Labour MP, said in a statement he wants to find out people’s concerns about Cresta Court, which is why he organised the public meeting.
He said it’s “not the first time a hotel in our community has needed to be used for this purpose”, pointing to the “huge backlog” in the asylum system and the almost 119,000 asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be decided.
“Labour is committed to a fair and controlled asylum system,” he said, but warned “there are no quick fixes”.
Mr Rand pledged to “continue to meet with Home Office officials and with ministers to push for the claims of those in the Cresta Court Hotel to be processed as quickly as possible, so this situation can be resolved.”
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Prince William says past year ‘probably the hardest in my life’ after King and Kate diagnosed with cancer
Prince William has described the past year as “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life” following his father and wife being diagnosed with cancer.
In a wide-ranging and surprisingly personal interview at the end of his week-long tour of Cape Town, the Prince of Wales was asked how hard the last year has been, answering: “Honestly? It’s been dreadful.
“It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Speaking about how the King and the Princess of Wales have coped, he added: “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.
“But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.”
It’s the first time he has spoken so openly about the personal impact on him of his father and wife’s illness and treatment.
His answer emphasises just how difficult it has been for him, but in many ways will be seen as an extraordinary statement when you consider the years of upset he endured around the traumatic death of his mother Princess Diana.
Prince William and Prince Harry during their mother’s funeral
Yesterday he praised Kate for being “amazing” and today when asked how she was doing said: “She’s doing well. Doing well.”
Prince says it is ‘very important’ he is ‘helping people’s lives’
During the year, both the King and the princess have taken some time away from public duties, at times putting more pressure on William to step up and go solo on engagements, especially in his new role as heir to the throne.
Asked about how he now feels about the responsibility and also potential freedom that comes with being Prince of Wales, he said: “It’s a tricky one.
“Do I like more responsibility? No. Do I like the freedom that I can build something like Earthshot then yes.”
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Princess of Wales: ‘Staying cancer free is now my focus’
Prince William’s Earthshot Awards celebrate and reward innovators working to combat some of the world’s most pressing environmental issues and have been described as the Oscars of the environmental world.
Elaborating on what that means for his future royal work, he said: “That’s the future for me. It’s very important with my role and my platform, that I’m doing something for good. That I’m helping people’s lives and I’m doing something that is genuinely meaningful.
“So, the Earthshot is a culmination, if you like, of all that put together. But it takes a lot of work, and there’s a lot of unseen stuff that goes on, a lot of meetings, a lot of people coming in, a lot of chatting and phone calls, letters, all trying to sort of make the Earthshot get to being the best possible entity it can be.”
Pic: PA
Princess Charlotte in ‘floods of tears’ over prince’s beard
William travelled to Cape Town on Monday for the fourth annual Earthshot Awards.
On his visit it was quickly noticed he was wearing a beaded bracelet saying “Papa” that he was given by Princess Charlotte.
But William admitted she is less keen on another new addition to his appearance, his beard.
Asked about his new facial hair he said: “Well Charlotte didn’t like it the first time. I got floods of tears, the first one, I got a few tears, so I had to shave it off. And then I grew it back. I thought, hang on a second and I convinced her it was going to be okay.”
William frustrated over slow response to his call to action
The prince has seemed in his element throughout the week.
Excited about the “Earthshot movement”, he said he felt “quite emotional” as he sat in the audience for the fourth annual awards ceremony, but he clearly has frustrations some aren’t responding to his call to action quickly enough.
He said: “When you go and approach people and say, like business or whoever, or even government when you approach them, and say, ‘listen, we’re building this incredible thing, please come on board’. Some people are extremely fast and keen to do it.
“Others take a little bit longer and it’s those people who take a little bit longer, I’m like, ‘guys, we just don’t have the time’.
“So, yes, I get a bit frustrated that it takes a long time to convince people that this is worthy of their attention.”
Speaking directly to big corporations, he added: “My message to business really is: hurry up and be courageous. Invest faster because we just don’t have that time.”
‘I couldn’t be less relaxed this year’
Already Earthshot has attracted the likes of Uber and British Airways to commit to supporting some of the start-ups discovered by the annual awards. An investment platform called “Launchpad” also links up innovators with potential investors.
Many of us who follow the prince regularly would say he’s seemed more relaxed throughout the week, clearly buoyed up by the enthusiasm for Earthshot, but he also said it’s partly down to family time.
“It’s interesting you say that, cause I couldn’t be less relaxed this year,” he said. “So it’s very interesting you’re all seeing that. But it’s more a case of just crack on and you’ve got to keep going… I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too.”
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Sara Sharif: Father tells court ‘evil and psycho’ wife tied up daughter with tape – and made him slap girl
Sara Sharif’s father has told a court his “evil and psycho” wife made him slap the 10-year-old girl, and claimed she tied up his daughter with tape.
Taxi driver Urfan Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool and brother Faisal Malik are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of Sara’s murder in August last year.
Sara was found dead in bed at the family’s home in Woking, Surrey, after Sharif called police from Pakistan and said he had beaten her “too much”.
A post-mortem found dozens of injuries, including burns and human bite marks.
Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing
Speaking in court on Thursday, Sharif claimed he once came home to find Sara with her arms bound behind her back with packaging tape in the television room.
He said Batool appeared “shocked” to see him, and told the court: “I screamed. I was angry, I was annoyed.
“She, Sara, was terrified. She was scared. She didn’t say much. I hugged her, I kissed her, then me and Beinash went into the kitchen.
“She apologised to me and she promised that she wouldn’t do it again.”
(L-R) Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik deny murder. Pics: Surrey Police
Sharif then told the court he had cut his daughter free with a knife from the kitchen and said he was “an idiot” for not calling the police.
The taxi driver then denied Batool’s repeated claims to her sister that he was “beating the crap” out of Sara.
He did however admit to slapping his daughter “multiple times” when his wife told him she was “playing up”.
Sharif claimed “I was made to” slap Sara as Batool “was blaming my daughter”, and added: “I should not have believed her. I never knew I was living with evil and psycho.”
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Sharif then denied hitting Sara with a white pole, biting her or putting a homemade hood over her head.
He said about the bite marks on Sara: “I didn’t do it, Faisal didn’t do it… Who else was at home?”
Defence barrister Naeem Mian KC noted to jurors evidence that only Batool had refused to give her dental impressions to compare with the marks on Sara’s body.
Sharif also said he found out his daughter was wearing a diaper last July from Batool, who said the girl “could not control her bladder” and that it was “normal”.
He denied branding Sara on her bottom with an iron, and told the court he did not see bruises on her body as she wore a hijab, long sleeves and leggings at home. He also claimed he never saw her in pain or unable to move.
On the day of Sara’s death, Sharif said he received a call from Batool telling him to “come home,” to which he said he was “driving not flying” and would be back in 15 to 20 minutes.
He said he was not “burning with anger to get home” and said he had stopped to buy cigarettes or a vape from a Co-op on the way.
Sharif, 42, Batool, 30, and Malik, 29, deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.
The trial continues.
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