More than 200 refugee organisations, charities and trade unions have signed an open letter calling on Britain’s political leaders to end “pernicious and insidious currents” of racism and hatred that underpin a slew of anti-migrant protests.
The letter, coordinated by the campaign coalition Together With Refugees, has been signed by organisations including Amnesty International UK, City of Sanctuary UK, Care for Calais, Doctors of the World, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Freedom from Torture, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, the Public and Commercial Services Union, Refugee Action and Safe Passage.
It was drafted in response to weeks of protests outside asylum seeker hotels in locations across the country, often countered by anti-racism activists.
The protests have come against a backdrop of inflammatory language or misinformation from senior politicians including the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, and the senior Conservative Robert Jenrick. In June, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he regretted a speech warning that Britain could become an “island of strangers”.
This weekend, Jenrick prompted anger by claiming mass migration was putting at risk women and girls. He repeated the claim that 40% of sexual assaults committed in London last year were carried out by foreign nationals – one of several assertions about immigration that have been disputed or debunked in recent days.
On Monday, Reform UK claimed migrants from Muslim countries posed a threat to women’s safety in Britain, as the party’s only female MP, Sarah Pochin, claimed asylum seekers arriving on small boats held “medieval views”.
The charities’ open letter, sent to the main UK party leaders on Monday, says: “Anti-refugee protests across the country have been distressing to witness, with echoes of last summer’s riots making them all the more alarming.
“The pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred underlying these protests are glaring evidence of a failing system. The responsibility to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past is yours. Only then will you bring unity instead of division and cohesion rather than hate.”
The letter concludes: “For those who need our compassion to be confronted with further torment here in the UK is shocking. But the outpouring of support from communities condemning the hatred is a powerful reminder that these views do not represent the vast majority. Today we stand in solidarity with those targeted, because this is what represents our country, this is who we are.”
Sonya Sceats, the chief executive at Freedom from Torture, said: “No matter who we are or where we come from, we all have the right to feel safe. We know from our clinical work that many men, women and children in these hotels came here seeking protection after being tortured in countries like Afghanistan and Iran.
“To meet with hate on the streets of Britain, whipped up by politicians for their own ends, makes survivors feel hunted again and adds to their trauma. This isn’t who we are as a country.
“It is down to the millions of us who want a more compassionate approach to stand together with refugees and for an end to the torture and repression which drives people across borders in the first place.”
Jo Benefield, the volunteer campaign coordinator for Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign, was one of many signatories who took part in counter-gatherings across the country.
In Bristol on Saturday, estimates suggest the protesters were outnumbered by eight to one, with about 50 in the anti-refugee group compared with about 400 people standing in solidarity with refugees.
She said: “In the riots of last summer it was counter-protesters who protected residents in another Bristol hotel before police arrived. So the people staying in the hotel being targeted this year were pleased to know so many of the local community were there to support them.”
Tim Naor Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “The vicious and relentless attacks on people seeking asylum from some politicians and sections of the media using age-old racist tropes and shoddy data must stop now. We must build on the huge swathes of support for refugees that has spilled out onto the streets and create truly resilient and welcoming communities.”
Together With Refugees, the largest pro-refugee coalition in UK history, with more than 600 member organisations, is calling for a plan that upholds the UK’s commitment under international law to the right to claim asylum, provides a proper strategy for welcoming refugees, and forges stronger global cooperation to tackle the root causes that force people to flee their homes.