UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Facebook posts reveal Homeland activists organising asylum hotel protests across the UK, raising fears of deeper extremist influence.
As reported by The Guardian, several Facebook posts and groups show far-right Homeland activists coordinating protests at UK hotels housing asylum seekers.
How are Homeland activists using Facebook to spread UK hotel protests?
The Homeland party, created after breaking away from Patriotic Alternative, has launched several online groups. They aim to expand protests that recently targeted an asylum hotel in Epping.
Activists warn that the protests are being driven by far-right groups. They fear these groups may be infiltrating and manipulating the events. Authorities predict protests in 20 towns and cities across Britain this weekend.
Facebook groups reveal Homeland has been active in several areas, including Epping, Wethersfield, Peterborough and Nuneaton.
Five people, Tom King, Jennifer Jardine, Matt Alexander, Adam Clegg and Andrew Piper, run the Nuneaton Says No group.
The group has promoted a Saturday protest under slogans such as “Stop the Boats” and “Women Wear Pink,” echoing the “Pink Ladies” rallies in Epping. In the comments section, one member said,
“Should’ve maybe done this on a Friday. You know. When the Council are actually in their offices, as opposed to when it’s just an empty building.”
According to the Times, Clegg and Piper are members of Homeland and were photographed with party material. They also took part in the Epping protests.
King’s profile picture appears to match that of Tom Huburn-King, Homeland’s West Midlands organiser. Jardine’s photo shows her posing before a party sign. Images on Alexander’s Facebook show a trip to Germany’s Eagle’s Nest, the Nazi-built site near Hitler’s alpine home.
Wetherfield Says No is co-run by Callum Barker, who was named in The Times as being linked to Homeland. He previously helped organise Epping Says No with Clegg and Piper.
In Facebook posts, Barker and Pile urged momentum against hotels housing asylum seekers, writing,
“If you live in an area that has a hotel occupied by asylum seekers, start organising. Gather family, friends, locals and protest; make your voices heard. We are united in this struggle and in the end we will win.”
In Peterborough, a new offshoot group has formed to plan demonstrations at a hotel whose profile prominently features Homeland-branded signage.
Far-right groups attempting to organise protests outside hotels housing migrants have sparked alarm over extremists seeking to turn the Epping dispute into a catalyst for wider racial unrest.
How far-right groups are seizing on the Epping Hotel row?
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick attended the Epping protest, where he was spotted alongside Eddy Butler, a former BNP strategist known for his role in far-right networks.
The anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate reported that the rise of Union and St George’s flags on lamp-posts was connected to a close associate of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
After the high court scrapped plans to house asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel, ministers are preparing for nationwide protests. Anti-migrant tensions intensified at the Bell Hotel after an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Yvette Cooper’s views on closing asylum hotels
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said ministers are working to close hotels housing asylum seekers “as swiftly as possible” under an “orderly” plan to avoid causing problems in other areas.
She added,
“That is the reason for the Home Office appeal in this case, to ensure that, going forward, the closure of all hotels can be done in a properly managed way right across the country – without creating problems for other areas and local councils.”
What did Dan Jarvis say about closing asylum hotels?
The security minister, Dan Jarvis, stated,
“This government will close all asylum hotels and we will clear up the mess that we inherited from the previous government.”
He added,
“We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way. And that’s why we’ll appeal this decision.”
What did Nigel Farage say about mass deportations of small boat arrivals?
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage plans to include five daily deportation flights from the UK. He proposed housing asylum seekers in military detention centres and sending some to territories like Ascension Island.
Mr Farage said,
“The aim of this legislation is mass deportations. We have a massive crisis in Britain. It is not only posing a national security threat but it’s leading to public anger that frankly is not very far away from disorder. There is only one way to stop people coming into Britain and that is to detain them and deport them.”
He added,
“I’m really sorry, but we can’t be responsible for everything that happens in the whole of the world. Who is our priority? Is it the safety and security of this country and its people? Or are we worrying about everybody else and foreign courts? That’s what it comes down to. Whose side are you on?”
Asylum seekers in the UK in 2025
The UK saw 111,084 asylum applications by June 2025, the highest since 1979. 71,000 cases are still pending decisions, highlighting system pressure.
32,059 asylum seekers are in hotels, up 8% from last year, showing housing shortages persist and ongoing challenges for authorities.