Investigation uncovers hundreds of criminal charges linked to asylum seekers housed in U.K. hotels

A Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered a startling surge in serious crimes linked to migrants housed in taxpayer-funded hotels across Britain.

Over the past three years, at least 312 asylum seekers have faced 708 criminal charges – including rape, sexual assault, attacks on emergency workers and theft – raising urgent questions about public safety and the U.K.’s asylum accommodation policies. Amid escalating small-boat crossings and record-high hotel costs (£3/$4 billion annually), the findings expose dangerous gaps in oversight, fuelling political debate over immigration enforcement.

The investigation analysed court records from 70 of the 220 hotels currently housing asylum seekers, revealing alarming patterns of criminality:

• 18 rape charges, 5 attempted rape, 35 sexual assaults and 51 thefts
• 89 assaults, including 27 against police or emergency workers
• 43 drug offenses, 18 burglaries and 16 robberies

Notable cases include:

• A Sudanese asylum seeker sentenced to seven years for strangling and attempting to rape a woman in a Wakefield nightclub toilet.
• A 20-year-old Oxford student dragged into a churchyard and raped by a migrant staying at a local hotel.
• Over 90 charges at a single London hotel – including arson attacks against the accommodation itself.

“This lays bare the risk posed by illegal immigrants to the British public,” said Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, demanding immediate deportations to Rwanda or other destinations.

Systemic failures and political reactions

The U.K. government does not track or publish crimes by asylum seekers, leaving gaps in accountability. Police reports rarely note defendants’ immigration status, obscuring the full scope of the problem. Critics argue the hotel policy – meant as a temporary measure – has spiralled into a costly, unsafe contingency plan.

“The small-boats crisis needs to be treated as a national security emergency,” insisted former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, calling for detained migrants to await deportation in secure facilities, not hotels. Meanwhile, Labour’s Diane Abbott controversially blamed the incidents on “hostility toward migrants” from political opponents – a claim that drew backlash amid the severity of the offenses.

The report follows revelations of a £7 billion ($9.5 billion) secret operation to resettle 18,500 Afghans in the U.K. – some with previously rejected asylum claims due to violent or sexual offenses. A “super-injunction” hid the program for nearly two years, intensifying scrutiny of vetting processes.

With accommodations evolving from budget hotels to luxury cruise ships and five-star properties, critics warn that high-profile cases – like a rapist vanishing during a transfer – underscore systemic dysfunction.

As Britain grapples with its asylum backlog and Channel crossings, the Mail on Sunday‘s findings underscore a fraught balance between humanitarian obligations and public safety. With Labour pledging to empty migrant hotels by 2029 and the Home Office vowing to “thoroughly investigate” the allegations, the political stakes have never been higher.

Yet for victims and communities, the urgent question remains: How many more crimes will unfold before reforms take hold?

yogaesoteric
July 23, 2025