A teenager was allegedly raped by a man in his 30s at a hotel housing refugees in east London, and another alleged sexual assault on a child is said to have taken place at the same facility.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was investigating both incidents, which come amid growing fears of chronic overcrowding and unsafe refugee facilities that have put significant pressure on Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
The other boy was allegedly sexually assaulted at the same accommodation in Walthamstow. The Met said a person had been charged with an offense of sexually touching a child under the age of 13 and would appear in court next week.
The two incidents are believed to have taken place within weeks of each other at a hotel where 150 children were reported to have been approached alongside 250 adults.
Labor MP Stella Creasy called for Braverman to resign over the revelations, saying the Home Office was not putting adequate safeguards in place to protect refugee children. Braverman has previously described these accommodations as “nice hotels” costing up to £150 per person per night.
The use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers almost trebled by 2021, despite Home Office promises to end its use. At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak said the Home Ministry had to book hotel accommodation for hundreds more refugees.
The government is under significant pressure to move asylum seekers from overcrowded immigration centres, including the Manston immigration processing center in Kent.
Grace Williams, leader of Waltham Forest council, has written to Braverman to raise her concerns about the lack of protection at London facilities, saying: “We have continually expressed our view that keeping families with children in hotels contingency is detrimental to children’s well-being. It is now clear that it is also a risk to their safety.”
The hotel is managed by Clearsprings Ready Homes, which has a 10-year contract with the Home Office to manage accommodation for asylum seekers in England and Wales. The Guardian reported on Monday that the company increased its profits more than sixfold last year, with its three directors sharing dividends of almost £28m.
Creasy raised concerns about the conditions of the children at the hotel in the Commons on Monday, before he became aware of the allegations. He said up to eight people were crammed into one room. “There are no school places for these children of primary school age. There is no clothing for most of them, especially for winter. No gambling facilities are allowed in all these prisons. There are no safeguards as far as any of us can see,” he added.
She asked Braverman if she would release the contracts that were in place for the care of refugee children. Braverman said it was a fallacy to suggest the government was cutting corners, adding: “When I came to the Home Office I was frankly quite appalled and horrified to find that we spend on average £150 per person per night to accommodate people in hotels. By my standards, this is a pretty nice hotel.”
Creasy told the Guardian that instead of taking their concerns seriously, Braverman “made a cheap joke about the price of hotels and showed little understanding of why it mattered”.
He said: “These incidents underline how important it is that those with responsibilities towards these children do so with the professionalism and compassion they deserve. The Home Secretary has failed on every count – if only she had a bit of d ‘integrity, he would resign, and if he doesn’t, the Prime Minister owes these children a duty of care that has been missing until now, and he must be removed from office.”
Williams said the hotel, which the council does not want to identify, was not fit for long-term use. Many of the rooms do not have opening windows, carpets or desk space, and there is no communal space, so refugees must eat in their rooms. He said these circumstances illustrated that these hotels were not safe places for young people.
He said: “These are vulnerable children who often move thousands of miles placed in cramped hotels for months without adequate support. Councils are doing everything they can to protect these people with little or no warning of the large number of applicants of asylums placed in their areas Alongside schools and health services, we support people often with very complex needs with few additional resources.
“Waltham Forest has a proud history of welcoming people from all over the world. The government must stop putting children and vulnerable people at risk.”
Williams has called on the Home Secretary to carry out risk assessments of all people placed in contingency hotels and to confirm that single men will no longer be placed in hotels with children and families.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called it “a truly appalling report”. He said: “This comes just weeks after hundreds of children were reported missing from a Home Office-run hotel, still missing,” he said. “The Home Office must take urgent action to protect the children in its care.”
One person was charged on Sunday 11 September with one count of sexually touching a child under the age of 13, the Met said.
A spokesman added: “He was bailed by the court to appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday November 9. The charge relates to an incident at a hotel in Waltham Forest on Friday September 9. The victim has the support of specialized agents”.
The force said it received a report of a violation at the same hotel on October 5. A spokesman said: “Officers attended and spoke to the victim, a teenage boy and his family. Specialist support is being offered. A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene and taken into custody. He was bailed to return at a date in early January 2023.”
The Home Office and Clearsprings declined to comment.