Aberdeen City Council calls for urgent meeting with UK Government after asylum seekers moved from hotels

Aberdeen City Council has called for a meeting with the UK home secretary after asylum seekers were moved to student accommodation.

The group were moved to the empty buildings on the city’s Don Street and Farmers Hall following a spate of protests outside hotels across Scotland, including in the North East.

The decision was criticised by the local authority, with the Home Office urged to reconsider the move.

In an open letter, signed by Aberdeen City Council co-leaders Christian Allard and Iain Yuill, the pair request an “urgent meeting” with newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood to discuss “significant concerns.”

The local authority believes the lack of consultation regarding the move has “increased risks to communities, students and asylum seekers”.

It comes as two men, aged 26 and 40, were charged with a hate crime following a protest outside the student accommodation on September 11.

The council leaders want to discuss the “rationale” behind the move, whether impact assessments were done and flexibility in funding to repsond to challenges.

Liberal Democrat co-leader Ian Yuill said: “The Home Office is responsible for providing accommodation for asylum seekers. It has failed, though, to engage with local residents and community representatives about this before new accommodation sites become active.”

SNP co-leader Christian Allard added: “Aberdeen has a great tradition of welcoming people fleeing war and persecution.

“Following the recent protests in the city, residents, students, our own staff, and asylum seekers are not feeling safe. The Home Office and Mears Group must reconsider before moving asylum seekers from one site to another.”

In recent months, several anti-immigration demonstrations have taken place outside asylum hotels in Scotland, including the former Hilton Double Tree, the Best Western Hotel and the Hampton by Hilton in Aberdeen.

The city council previously urged protesters planning to demonstrate outside asylum hotels in the city to “respect the rights” of those living inside.

Following one demonstration on August 2, five men were charged with allegedly inciting racial hatred.

The home secretary has been contacted for comment.