The incident follows a rise in the quantity of refugees and asylum seekers who cross the English Channel in boats to reach the UK.
Following a violent anti-refugee protest outside a hotel that previously housed asylum seekers in the vicinity of Liverpool, England, police have detained 15 persons.
A police officer and two bystanders received minor injuries during the disturbance on Friday night in Knowsley, according to Merseyside Police. According to the authorities, several demonstrators flung items and set a police van on fire. The individuals apprehended, whose ages varied from 13 to 54, were held “after violent disorder.”
There were a few injuries among the police officers, Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell told Radio City, “It was quite dangerous.”
According to local media, the Home Office has been employing the hotel to temporarily host asylum seekers since last year.
The violence on Friday night, according to George Howarth, who represents Knowsley in the UK Parliament, did not represent the neighborhood. He asserted that “the people of Knowsley are not bigots and are open to those escaping from some of the most dangerous areas in the world in quest of a place of safety.”
“Those opposing refugees at this rally tonight do not speak for this community,” the sign read.
As more refugees and migrants travel across the Channel in small boats, tensions are rising, which is why the demonstration occurred.
By using that path, more than 45,000 persons entered the UK in 2022; the majority of them requested refuge.
Political unrest and bureaucratic red tape have caused the asylum application process to sluggishly grind to a halt, trapping many applicants in hotels or other temporary housing. With the Conservative administration pledging to “stop the boats” and pushing a plan to deport such asylum seekers to Rwanda, the Channel crossings have turned into a political hot button.
The government is allegedly stigmatizing desperate people who are escaping violence and poverty.
