UK Authorities Investigate Activists for Entering Asylum Seeker Housing
Anti-migrant campaigners filmed themselves entering a house occupied by asylum seekers and questioning them, prompting an investigation by UK Border Force and the Home Office.
UK authorities are investigating anti-migrant activists who filmed themselves entering a house of multiple occupation (HMO) and questioning asylum seekers residing there. The footage, titled 'HMO Hunting in Leicestershire,' was shared online by a group called Truthhurts101UK.
The video, which had garnered over 469,000 views on X (formerly Twitter) before being removed from YouTube for violating its terms of service, shows three men entering a property in the Leicestershire village of Fleckney. The individuals confront residents, inquiring if the property is managed by the contractor Serco, a question one resident appears to confirm.
One of the men in the video identifies himself as an 'English nationalist citizen journalist' focused on immigration and demographic change. The group gained access to the property through an unlocked back door and presented themselves to the residents as contractors assessing the property for repairs. They also requested paperwork, which the resident stated he did not possess.
Serco confirmed it is aware of the post and is investigating the incident. A Home Office spokesperson stated that the safety and security of asylum accommodation residents, staff, and local communities are paramount, and that any instances of criminality are taken seriously. YouTube explained that the video was removed for violating policies against harassment, cyberbullying, and revealing personally identifiable information.
Campaign group Asylum Matters criticized the footage as a "premeditated invasion into someone’s home for clicks and attention." Louise Calvey, executive director of Asylum Matters, called for enhanced protections for asylum seekers, including removing details of shared accommodation sites from public view and escalating police responses to such incidents.
Truthhurts101UK, in response to a report by The Guardian, reportedly described asylum seekers as "ticking timebombs" and dismissed the newspaper as "irrelevant." The group later shared the Guardian article on their X account, labeling it a "hit piece."
The surge in HMOs is partly attributed to the government's efforts to relocate asylum seekers from hotels into communities to reduce costs. In 2018, there were 41,162 applications to convert homes into HMOs, a figure that rose to 57,725 in 2024, with an estimated 472,823 HMOs in the UK by 2025.