Tory and Reform politicians endanger trials with immigration ‘hysteria’, say former ministers

When asked whether contempt laws had been broken, the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, said it was ‘good’ that a council leader had become ‘slightly emotional’. Photograph: Lucy North/PA

Conservative and Reform UK politicians are fuelling “hysteria and anger” over immigration, with criminal trials put at risk of collapse, former ministers and police have warned.

Protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers have spread across the country in recent weeks, while debate about immigration – including instances of misinformation – has intensified.