The migrant hotel flashpoint in the heart of London’s banking district: How Canary Wharf has become an asylum seeker ‘dumping ground’ with ‘terrified’ locals scared to leave homes
Once hailed as a ‘miniature Manhattan’, Canary Wharf’s new status as a migrant hotel flashpoint has been seized upon as evidence of its decline.
The decision to house hundreds of illegal migrants in the heart of East London’s banking district has prompted a furious reaction from locals, with some complaining of feeling too scared to leave their homes.
Protests are taking place outside the four-star Britannia Hotel almost daily, with the recent arrest of one of its residents for walking into a woman’s home doing nothing to ease tensions.
In a bid to reassure the public, a Home Office spokesperson told Daily Mail that ‘we will always do everything in our power’ to ensure foreign nationals who commit crime in the UK face deportation once they have completed their sentence.
Still, the latest incidents come at a difficult time for the finance hub, which has seen a series of major firms announce plans to leave amid a post-pandemic drive towards working from home.
Susan Hall, the Conservative Assembly member and former London mayoral candidate, claimed the use of Canary Wharf as a ‘dumping ground’ for illegal migrants was evidence of its decline under London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
‘I had a phone call with someone who lives nearby who said she won’t go out without her husband because she doesn’t feel safe,’ she told the Daily Mail.
‘This is a prestigious financial district, but clearly Sadiq Khan doesn’t care where these people are put, the safety of women and children, or the chaos on our streets.
‘It took 12 days to build a Nightingale Hospital – so why on earth can’t they build a detention centre?’
Anti-migrant protesters who gathered outside the hotel earlier this month shout at counter-protesters across the road
Another group of up to 50 migrants arrived at the hotel at the crack of dawn yesterday before being hurried inside by guards
Eleano Borisenko, 31, said: ‘I don’t feel safe. I’ve been here five years. We had no consultation. Nobody asked us any questions’
The Britannia, which opened in 1992 at the height of Canary Wharf’s emergence from an area of derelict dockland, boasts of ‘superb views over the London skyline’ and usually charges more than £400 a night for rooms.
The hotel is also within walking distance of skyscraper One Canada Square, which was the UK’s tallest building for more than 20 years until The Shard was unveiled in 2012.
It has since become the focus of protests after Tower Hamlets Council confirmed it had been handed over to the Home Office to house asylum seekers.
Another group of up to 50 migrants arrived at the hotel one morning last week before being hurried inside by guards.
Residents living near the hotel have spoken of their concerns about having hundreds of bored young men now living on their doorstep.
Tracey Calder, a 35-year-old receptionist, said she now tries to walk in a group for safety.
‘We are forming a group of locals so we don’t go out on our own. We are terrified,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Protesters surround a taxi leaving the hotel on Thursday as police watch on
Regular protests have been taken place outside the hotel for days
A man reacts after being arrested during a demonstration outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf on August 3
Friends Roy Knott, 62, and Jo Avent, 55, live nearby and want the hotel to stop housing migrants
Eleano Borisenko, 31, said: ‘I don’t feel safe. I’ve been here five years. We had no consultation. Nobody asked us any questions.
‘They never said what would be happening and there was no discussion or debate. It was a huge shock.’
Friends Roy Knott, 62, and Jo Avent, 55, live nearby and want the hotel to stop housing migrants.
Mr Knott said: ‘They get everything handed to them on a plate. It’s serious. I don’t feel safe and I know a lot of families who feel the same.
‘The cost to the taxpayer must be huge as well. Can we afford this? There are police and security there all the time.
‘People are so angry locally. I know people who simply don’t want to live here anymore.’
Canary Wharf has struggled in recent years after the shift towards working from home saw a dip in demand for office space.
Many big employers have downsized their concrete footprint as a consequence.
A man in his 20s who was living at the Britannia Hotel was recently arrested for assault after allegedly walking into a woman’s home
The Britannia, which opened in 1992 at the height of Canary Wharf’s emergence from an area of derelict dockland, usually charges more than £400 a night for rooms
HSBC said in 2023 that it planned to vacate its 45-floor Canary Wharf skyscraper – 8 Canada Square – in 2027, when the current lease expires.
Law giant Clifford Chance is also leaving. It occupies 10 Upper Bank Street, a 32-storey one million square foot skyscraper.
In 2028, it will move back to the City to occupy a new, much smaller office block. Major rival Allen & Overy has already left.
US law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom moved to the City in 2024. And credit agency Moody’s is also planning to leave.
Despite the slate of high-profile departures, those in charge of the district would point to recent data that shows the valuation of some of its offices are rising for the first time in three years.
The value of a £2billion portfolio that includes around half of Canary Wharf Group’s office holdings increased by 0.6 per cent between March and June, according to data released by landlord CWG.
Even so, many are adamant that the chaos surrounding the Britannia Hotel will do nothing to aid this recovery.
Jules Durand, a French financial worker who joined the protests, told the Telegraph. ‘I think it’s crazy. I may move. Everyone in my building doesn’t like it but they won’t act and come down here because they don’t want to be on camera.
‘I don’t oppose the hotel, but I just don’t want them here. I’m against immigration all the way. My area of France has been completely overwhelmed.’
A gleaming aerial view of Canary Wharf, Docklands, in the early 2000s, when optimism about the area was flying high
Sharply dressed office workers commute to work during the morning rush hour in Canary Wharf, 2015
Barriers have been set up outside the hotel to keep protesters away from the entrance
A security guard stands outside the hotel late last month
On Friday, a crowd of anti-migrant protesters descended on the hotel to be met by counter demonstrators.
Officers were seen pinning some activists on the ground, with two arrests made.
One was an anti-migrant protester who was detained after a bottle was thrown at officers.
The other was a member of the counter-protest group who was arrested for failing to remove their face covering.
The main road outside the hotel was blocked by hundreds of demonstrators shouting ‘save our kids’.
Police had to rapidly mobilise to contain a group of ‘anti-fascist’ activists arriving at South Quay station to confront anti-migrant protesters as they held signs that said ‘no human is illegal’ and chanted: ‘Refugees have the right – here to stay, here to fight.’
More than a hundred police officers moved to kettle the group outside the tube station for breaching the peace.
People then made their way into the town as the main road outside the hotel was closed.
Dozens were carrying flags, leading chants of ‘Keir Starmer is a w*****’ and ‘send them home’.
It comes as police continue to quiz a man accused of bursting into a blind woman’s flat has been arrested on suspicion of common assault.
A protester who was asked to remove his face mask shouts at a police officer whilst taking part in the Stand Up to Racism rally outside the Britannia on Friday
The suspect, aged in his 20s, was living at the Britannia, and was being held by police in Hackney, east London.
He is said to have entered the house on Wednesday night after being followed by a group of men on the street and told to ‘go back to the hotel’ where anti-migrant protesters were gathered outside.
The Met has now said he is no longer living there.
A spokesperson for the police this morning said: ‘Our investigation continued on Thursday, with officers carrying out extensive CCTV enquiries and speaking to witnesses.
‘As a result of this, in the early hours of this morning – Friday, 15 August – we arrested a man in the Hackney area on suspicion of common assault. He is believed to be in his early 20s.
‘We can confirm that this is the man who allegedly entered the flat. He is now in police custody.’
A 22-year-old woman who was arrested on Wednesday evening and lives at the flat which was entered has since been charged with a number of offences.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases, but when foreign nationals commit serious crimes in our country, we will always do everything in our power to deport them after they have completed their sentence.
‘This government has already deported almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in our first year in office, a 14 per cent increase on the previous year, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.’
