Outrage as Lib Dem council guidelines migrant resort protesters are ‘far-right racists’ – on the town the place DOZENS of asylum seekers have been charged with crimes

A Liberal Democrats-led council has prompted fury after formally labelling protesters outside asylum seeker hotels as far-right racists.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in Dorset voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion condemning demonstrators outside three asylum hotels.

Campaigners have raised alarm about crime in seaside town Bournemouth – with dozens of asylum seekers charged or convicted over offences in recent months. 

And they have hit back after the local authority, run by a coalition led by the Lib Dems since 2022, held a meeting passing a motion condemning the alleged far-right threat.

Last month three migrants among many staying at a taxpayer-funded hotel in Bournemouth faced sentencing for separate violent crimes over just 10 days.

Halil Dal, a Turkish migrant put up at the South Coast town’s Britannia Hotel, was spared jail after drunkenly stabbing a man with a broken bottle.

Days earlier, Shkar Jamal, who has been living in the same property, missed his own sentencing for threatening a man with a snooker cue – before being discovered tucking into fish and chips nearby instead.

Meanwhile, Kurdish migrant Hana Hassan was one of a 12-strong mob armed with machetes who attacked a shopkeeper in the town following a nightclub dispute. 

He has now been jailed for seven years, as local fears mount over what has been dubbed Britain’s most dangerous hotel being used to house asylum seekers.

The 123-room hotel is rated three-star – though TripAdvisor rankings have reviewers putting it 66th among the 67 such venues across Bournemouth on the South Coast.

It has also been the scene of angry protests in the surrounding streets, as locals raise concerns about its use for an estimated 100 asylum seekers – along with two nearby migrant hotels as part of Home Office bookings.

The Britannia Hotel was surrounded this summer by residents gathering outside, brandishing signs with messages such as ‘Illegal criminals out’ and ‘Stop the boats’.

The nearby 79-room Chine Hotel was also targeted in July.

And figures in August revealed dozens of criminal charges have been brought against residents at the town’s three migrant hotels, it emerged in August.

A total of 91 charges were brought against people staying at the Britannia and Roundhouse – just 180 yards from each other – and another 25 against those at the Chine Hotel, amounting to 116 counts against 51 different asylum seekers.

Now the local authority has met and resolved to take action on fighting the far-right movement said to be growing in Bournemouth. 

They cited incidents of St George’s flags being daubed on roundabouts and public buildings as racist acts designed to intimidate migrants. 

And they accused people holding weekly protests outside the three migrant hotels in the town of being racist. 

The motion titled ‘Standing United Against Racism and Division’ was introduced by Labour councillor Peter Cooper.

It was seconded by fellow Labour councillor Patrick Canavan, who said: ‘Demonstrations outside asylum hotels are intended to be discriminatory. 

‘They are doing this because they want these people to go home, because they don’t like migrants – that is racist.’ 

There were then shouts from members of the public who denied being far-right and said they demonstrated because they wanted safer streets – and the heated meeting had to be briefly suspended while the public gallery was cleared.

One member of the public was Sue Dangerfield, a 64-year-old grandmother who has attended several hotel demonstrations. 

She said afterwards: ‘How dare they call me and others like me a far-right racist? You don’t expect to hear that from your own council – it is disgraceful.

‘They highlighted marches and demonstrations, but these events aren’t about being far-right or political – they are attended by parents and grandparents concerned about feeling unsafe in our town.’ 

Independent councillor Gillian Martin, who spoke against the motion, said: ‘How do you define if something is far right? 

‘Ordinary people are protesting because they don’t feel safe – we cannot ignore their protests simply by labelling them far-right.’ 

BCP Council voted to pass the motion by 34 to 10, meaning the local authority will publicly denounce far-right marches and write to the Government seeking more support and resources to tackle the rise in far right activity and hate crime. 

An amendment to denounce ‘all extremism’ after members raised the issue of anti-Semitism was rejected.

Bobbie Dove, a Conservative member, said the council already had processes in place to tackle incidents of racism. 

She said: ‘Racism is racism whether it comes from the left or right. For this to be a far-right issue alone is misleading and is divisive. 

‘Do I want to set up a new quango, committee or organisation to replicate work already being done? No. All we get is a talking shop. Use what we have got instead of virtue signalling.’

Independent councillor Vanessa Rickets described the main subject of the meeting as ‘utterly divisive’.

But several members told of far right movements growing in Bournemouth and pointed to the St George’s cross being ‘hijacked’ for political reasons.

Mr Canavan said: ‘This isn’t about people trying to be patriotic or people being scared. It’s pure outright intimidation. 

‘People are hijacking flags and using graffiti for intimidatory purposes.

‘Demonstrations outside asylum hotels are also intended to be discriminatory and they’re doing that not because they are scared but they want these people to go home because they don’t like migrants and that is racist.’ 

Former Bournemouth mayor George Farquhar said the public felt concerned about ‘racist’ graffiti and St George’s flag being daubed on public buildings.

Mr Cooper said: ‘The far-right are anti anyone who doesn’t agree with them. ‘Lenin said – and I often quote Lenin – the lumpen proletariat will be organised against themselves for the benefit of the ruling class.

‘That is what we are seeing today. Working class people are feeling vulnerable and afraid because they are being fuelled by far right political ideologies.’

The motion that has now been passed pinpoints what it describes as ‘recent far-right marches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole that seek to spread hatred, fear, and division’.

It also highlights ‘an increase in racist vandalism and graffiti which desecrate our communities and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds to remove’.

And there is also a reference to a ‘rising tide of racist activity nationally, which is being exploited for political purposes to divide communities’.

Stated aims going forward are to ‘publicly denounce far-right marches and racist graffiti in BCP, affirming that hate has no home here’ – and also ‘develop and bring forward anti-racist policies, in partnership with schools, community groups, and faith organisations, to promote inclusion and challenge prejudice’.

Councillors also asked the BCP leader to write to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed, ‘calling for stronger national support and resources to tackle the rise in far-right activity and hate crime’.

Recent cases in the town included that of drunken Turkish migrant Halil Dal, 30, who was staying at the Britannia, and who stabbed a man with a broken bottle.

Despite the attack – and accusations he was in a terrorist group in his home country – Halil Dal, 30, would not be deported from the UK, a court heard on September 30.

Dal was caught on CCTV smashing a glass bottle against the wall outside the Camel nightclub in Bournemouth last December before attacking Kashif Chugtai – who suffered cuts to his back and was lucky his injuries were not ‘catastrophic’.

Dal has been staying at the Britannia since fleeing Turkey, where his lawyer said he faced persecution for his political views and police had accused him of being a member of a terrorist group, tortured him and forced him to become an informant.

Video footage of the attack shows Dal removing a bottle from his pocket, smashing it against the wall and then making a ‘stabbing motion’ with it several times.

Security staff then stepped in and restrained him on the floor until the police arrived.

He admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was handed a 24-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months, meaning he is not eligible for automatic deportation under Government legislation.

Dal was given a 24-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and a 24-week tagged curfew between 7pm and 7am.

Dal, speaking through a Turkish interpreter, said: ‘Thank you, I will follow the rules and obey the conditions.’

The sentence means Dal does not meet the threshold for automatic deportation by the Government.

Under current law, foreign offenders who receive a prison sentence of 12 months or more can be deported automatically.

Deportations only occur for sentences under a year in certain cases, for example if it involves a persistent offender or they have caused serious harm.

The Government has announced plans to immediately kick out rapists, drug dealers and burglars who receive custodial sentences, with a lifelong ban on returning.

A Mail On Sunday investigation revealed in July that at least 312 asylum seekers have been charged with 708 alleged criminal offences in just three years – including rape, sexual assault, attacking emergency workers and theft.

The probe scoured thousands of magistrate courts records and cross-referenced defendants’ addresses with those of 70 taxpayer-funded hotels housing asylum seekers to compile a dossier of the 708 criminal charges.

The Home Office said in response: ‘Removal of foreign national offenders is up by 14 per cent since the last election, and we are also taking action through our Border Security Bill to cancel the asylum claims of anyone convicted of a sex offence.’

A Government spokesman has also previously told the Mail: ‘From over 400 asylum hotels open under the previous government in summer 2023, costing almost £9million a day, there are now fewer than 210, and we want them all closed by the end of this Parliament.

‘We will continue to work closely with community partners across the country, and discuss any concerns they have, as we look to fix this broken system together.’

A Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) spokesman added: ‘The Home Office are responsible for procuring and managing asylum accommodation.

‘The council carefully monitors the use of asylum hotels in Bournemouth and the impact of this on our statutory services, community safety and the local economy.’

Dorset Police’s Chief Superintendent Heather Dixey, LPA (local policing area) commander for the BCP area, has insisted: ‘Bournemouth remains a safe place to live, work and visit.

‘However, like most large, urbanised areas, we do have crime, which we are tackling and reducing. Often these offences involve individuals who are known to one another.

‘The added influx of visitors we receive during peak periods can lead to additional demand and we have extensive policing plans in place – which includes working with our local partners – to ensure we proactively deter offenders from committing crime.

‘This summer, our Good Safe Summer initiative saw us deploy enhanced visible patrols in key areas of touristic activity, such as the seafront, town centre and Lower Gardens.

‘These patrols are also undertaken alongside our Town Team, who are deployed by BCP Council.’

She said a programme called ‘Op Track’ involved officers conducting ‘regular foot patrols around hotspot areas where ASB and violent crime has been reported to us’.

She added: ‘Additionally, we also have dedicated patrol officers deployed to police our busy nighttime economy.

‘The increased visibility and engagement of our officers in Bournemouth has been warmly received by our communities, according to their feedback, and has seen positive results.

‘Dorset Police does not tolerate violence or disorder within our communities. It is our priority to investigate such offences, identify those involved, ensure that they become the subject of the criminal justice process and held account for their actions.

‘We will continue our efforts to tackle crime and maintain Bournemouth as a safe and enjoyable place to live and visit.’

Official figures showed anti-social behaviour in the town centre had reduced by 4.6 per cent between April and July this year, with crime down by three per cent, compared with the same period in 2004.

The force added there had also been a 1.3 per cent fall in violent crimes and a 2.22 per cent reduction in public order offences.