A freedom of information request made by the Guardian has revealed that the Home Office has received hundreds of complaints of abuse about members of staff looking after asylum seekers in hotels and other accommodation.
The 428 complaints made over the last year included abuse and harassment of asylum seekers, failures to respond to vulnerabilities including serious mental health problems and self-harm, and reports of staff walking into their bedrooms unannounced.
A further 463 complaints were lodged regarding meals provided, raising issues with the provision of inedible food and a lack of milk for children. These complaints follow the earlier release of a report published in March 2024, which found that the food provided to asylum seekers was failing to meet basic needs, leading to malnutrition and food insecurity.
Whilst the Home Office reported that it was unable to provide a further breakdown of the type of concerns raised in the complaints, some individuals claiming asylum have spoken up regarding these problems. One highlighted that a male staff member opened their bedroom door with a key when their daughter was inside and suggested their complaints were ‘closed down.’ Another corroborated the concerns relating to food insecurity and felt they were treated ‘like animals.’
The charity Refugee Action has also documented such complaints. One example given involved a woman who had had problems with the door to her room and had consequently become reliant on staff to open her door from the outside. She said a male manager had suggested that, ‘You can come and stay in my house next door.’
Georgia Eracleous, a volunteer with the charity Care4Calais, also raised concerns regarding intimidation by male security guards at the hotels who could come across ‘aggressively’ and suggested they would sometimes enter rooms without permission and threaten deportation, despite ‘knowing nothing about their individual asylum claims.’
The Chief Executive of Refugee Action, Tim Naor Hilton, emphasised that these reported issues were merely ‘the tip of the iceberg’ as many asylum seekers were worried to speak out in fear this could affect their asylum claims.
A Home Office spokesperson reaffirmed that the UK will continue to support asylum seekers ‘that would otherwise be destitute,’ despite arrivals reaching record highs. They also emphasised that complaints about the food would be dealt with, but sought to reassure that all food provided in asylum hotels must reach NHS Eatwell standards and account for dietary and cultural requirements.
