Britannia Hotel counter-protest supporting asylum seekers

Green Party councillor Nathalie Bienfait organised the counter-protest outside the Britannia International hotel in Canary Wharf on Tuesday, July 22 after far-right social media accounts circulated unconfirmed claims that asylum seekers were being transferred there from Epping.

Cllr Bienfait told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she wanted to make sure voices supporting asylum seekers were heard.

She said: “We became aware of social media activity throughout the afternoon about the hotel.

“There were a lot of claims being made online about the asylum seekers housed in Epping being moved to Canary Wharf.

"It was quite clear there was a lot of people outside the hotel already, and a lot of discussion online that was scaremongering and not showing compassion towards vulnerable people who’ve made dangerous journeys to get here.

“We didn’t want just that side of the story to be told.

“The reason people come in small boats is because there is no safe way refugees can come legally.”

Cllr Bienfait said she and a small group of others stood holding signs welcoming refugees, across the road from around 50 protesters who had come to oppose the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers.

She said her group was soon surrounded by several people filming her, and were confronted by one man who shouted at them and tried to snatch their signs.

Her group was escorted away by police to cheers from the far-right activists, she said, and she has since been targeted for abuse by far-right accounts on X.

Footage livestreamed and shared widely by far-right activists shows one man shouting at Cllr Bienfait and calling her a “stupid c***”.

Another far-right account manipulated footage using AI to show a large, shirtless man in Union Flag shorts pouring a bucket of excrement over Cllr Bienfait’s head.

The Green Party councillor said: “It was very important we were there. I’m shocked [at] that level of aggression in Tower Hamlets on that issue, when Tower Hamlets was built on the shoulders of migrants.”

Far-right protesters have fought with police in Epping against the use of a hotel to house asylum seekers there.

Cllr Bienfait said she did not want to dismiss protesters as racist, but felt the “narrative” around asylum seekers is “being set by a handful of influencers” on social media.

A statement by Tower Hamlets Council explained it is aware of government plans to use the hotel to “provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers".

Britannia Hotels has been contacted for comment.

Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum said on X: “In Poplar and Limehouse, we are clear: refugees are welcome here.

“In the face of relentless demonisation and targeting, we continue to stand with migrants for their rights to safety and dignity.

“It’s the far-right and their hateful ideology that are not welcome here.”