Footage has emerged showing verbal abuse and "Welsh lives matter" chants by some people protesting plans to house asylum seekers at a hotel. A heavy police presence attended Llanelli's Stradey Park Hotel on Friday and formed a ring around people linked to the hotel who were trying to leave the site amid the swearing and shouting.
A High Court hearing on Friday saw Carmarthenshire council fail to get an interim order stopping migrants being sent to the hotel while their asylum claims are processed by the Home Office. It means 241 people are set to be housed in Stradey Park Hotel despite the council's claim that using the 77-bed site for asylum seekers would be a breach of planning conditions.
The Furnace Action Committee, a local group opposing the scheme, said around 250 people protested at the hotel entrance on Friday and the abuse came from "a very vocal minority of about 20 or 30" who "formed a human barricade". The committee's spokesman Robert Lloyd said: "We don't condone the act of either right- or left-wing organisations who seem to be distorting quite a simple campaign to stop this Home Office plan to house 241 asylum seekers in the hotel. We don't think that is a sensible plan either for the village of Furnace or the asylum seekers themselves. Unfortunately we have had commuter campaigners come into the area and try to distort and conflate what is quite a simple campaign."
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Footage on social media shows a group of protesters shouting at people linked to the hotel and blocking their way as they tried to leave the site. Those demonstrators yelled a string of obscenities and phrases including: "Welsh lives matter" and "Take them home to your place." One shouted: "How you're feeling right now is how this town feels – cornered and trapped." Eventually the people attempting to leave turned around and went back into the site amid loud cheers.
Mr Lloyd said a police van was later used so the people trying to leave could get away. He added: "We can't condone holding anyone to ransom so to speak. That is not the sort of activity we want to be engaged in. What I would prefer is a very sensible and civilised debate where we discuss how to move things on. We want to have a dialogue with the hotel owners and Clearsprings Ready Homes [the asylum seeker site operator] and the Home Office. Part of the problem is they have not been willing to have that dialogue with us. We don't think any consideration has been given to how the asylum seekers might be supported in the community with things like health services."
The spokesman said he was concerned about reported plans for "right-wing protests and left-wing counter-protests" expected to take place outside the Edwardian former stately home from on Saturday. "I'm worried it gets very ugly then," he added.
Last month 95 staff at the hotel were told their jobs would be terminated on July 10 – the same day asylum seekers are scheduled to move in. The council has said the change will harm the town's economy and cost more than 25% of its hotel rooms as well as impacting weddings and tourism.
Stradey Park's owner Gryphon Leisure has said there is an "urgent" need for asylum seeker accommodation. And the Home Office has said the plans are necessary with the asylum system under "incredible" strain. Following the High Court's decision the "disappointed" Carmarthenshire council leader Darren Price said the council would consider the judge's reasons on Monday and has applied for a permanent injunction. You can read more about the case here.
