Parents in a quiet Surrey village have raised concerns after a man was reportedly seen repeatedly loitering outside a primary school and approaching female pupils. The incident has since sparked wider questions about how asylum seekers are being housed under Labour’s plans to move people out of hotels and into residential areas.
Locals in Laleham, near the River Thames, contacted police after reporting that a young Afghan man had been standing near the school gate and becoming aggressive when challenged, it is reported. Parents claim he spat at them and suggested that paying £3,000 to be smuggled into the UK gave him the right to stand where he wanted. Locals claim he told them: “I’m allowed to stand where I want – I paid £3,000 to be here.”
He was later arrested and detained under the Mental Health Act after police said he ignored warnings, it is reported.
It later emerged that he had been reportedly placed in a nearby house with five other migrants.
A Daily Mail investigation found that the property, a 1920s semi-detached home, had been bought for £500,000 by a private landlord before being let out via an agent to house migrants placed there by the Home Office.
Spelthorne Borough Council said it had not been informed or consulted about the arrivals. In a statement, the council said it had written to the Home Office seeking “an explanation and an assurance that this will not happen again”.
The case in Surrey is one of several highlighted as part of concerns over Labour’s dispersal policy, which aims to reduce the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels.
Under the plans, migrants are being moved into residential properties across towns and villages.
In Walderslade, Kent, residents were told that more than 200 asylum seekers are expected to be placed in homes across the borough of Tonbridge and Malling. According to figures cited by the Daily Mail, 221 migrants are predicted to arrive in residential streets in the largely rural area.
Some properties have reportedly been converted into Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), allowing several people to live in one home.
Because the buildings were already residential properties, planning permission is not required, meaning councils have limited powers to block their use for asylum accommodation.
Clearsprings Ready Homes holds the Home Office contract for housing asylum seekers in southern England and Wales. The company has been acquiring and renting private homes as part of the move away from hotel use.
The Home Office said it is working to close asylum hotels and move people into “basic accommodation, such as military barracks”.
A spokesman said: “This government is removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain, and ramping up removals.
“That is why we will close every single asylum hotel, moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation, such as military barracks. All local authorities are consulted on dispersed accommodation.
“The population in asylum hotels has fallen by nearly 20% in the last year and by 45% since the peak under the previous government – cutting costs by nearly £1billion.”
However, some residents say they feel they have not been properly informed.
In Laleham, parents say they only discovered migrants had moved into the village after the incident outside the school.
The situation has fuelled criticism of Labour’s new migrant policy, with opponents arguing that dispersing asylum seekers into residential communities without clear communication risks creating tensions.
The Home Office has not commented directly on the Surrey case but maintains that its policy is aimed at reducing costs and ending the use of hotels for asylum accommodation.
The Express has contacted the Home Office for comment.