Critics slam 'inedible' food being given to asylum seekers at hotels

2023-02-13

Campaigners slam ‘inedible and terrible’ food being given to asylum seekers staying at ‘open prison’ budget hotels where they are given £8.24 a week to live on

Images showed dubious looking food including burgers, hot dogs and kebabs
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Pictures emerged today of the ‘inedible and terrible’ food being offered to asylum seekers staying in two budget hotels.

The images, which showed dubious looking food including burgers, chicken rolls and kebabs, were taken in two guesthouses near Bristol that have been commandeered by the Home Office.

A campaigner said the people living there felt reluctant to complain themselves, so they wanted to raise the issue on their behalf.

Between 100 and 150 men are living in one hotel south of Bristol, with their wives and children in a second hotel nearby.

Residents are given £8.24 a week to buy items like clothes and toiletries and they are not allowed to work or earn money themselves.

The images, which showed dubious looking food including what appears to be a chicken roll, were taken by asylum seekers staying in two hotels near Bristol

A campaigner said the people living there felt reluctant to complain themselves, so they wanted to raise the issue on their behalf

A supporter said they wanted to share the images of the food to give an insight into the conditions at the hotels.

‘This food is brought in every day, it comes packaged up, and is cold, and they have to heat it up in a microwave in their room,’ the source said.

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‘There’s no other option, and the most frustrating thing about it is that the hotel has a kitchen, but it’s locked. They have no other way to provide themselves with food at all.

‘Many of them say it’s pretty inedible. They don’t want to complain about it, they have hopes that they can be granted refugee status and make a new life for themselves in this country, but we feel like complaining about it on their behalf, because it’s pretty appalling.

‘They get £8 a week to live on, and that has to cover everything, from toiletries to transport.

‘These are very often people that have been traumatised, escaped from wars or persecution, and now they are being held in what is essentially an open prison, where their punishment is being bored, left to do nothing, and be given terrible food to eat, with no means or tools to cook for themselves, or make things better for themselves.’

Between 100 and 150 men are living in one hotel south of Bristol, with their wives and children in a second hotel nearby

There have been regular complaints about the standard of food given to asylum seekers in hotels around the country

Many of those seeking asylum in the two hotels have fled from persecution in Iran, the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the civil war in Syria or war and famine in east Africa.

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‘There’s a lot of misinformation being put out there about how these people are living in some kind of luxury, just because they are being put up in a hotel, but the reality is very different,’ the source added.

‘We just wanted to share the pictures they have taken of the food, just to show what it’s like on a daily basis.’

There have been regular complaints about the standard of food given to asylum seekers in hotels around the country.

Last year, the Home Office defended its practice, after GPs in Essex said children were failing to grow properly because of the poor quality and quantity of food they are given in that area.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Asylum seekers in hotels are provided with three meals a day, as well as a weekly allowance and additional provisions for families with a baby or toddler.

A source said: ‘We just wanted to share the pictures they have taken of the food, just to show what it’s like on a daily basis’

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Asylum seekers in hotels are provided with three meals a day, as well as a weekly allowance and additional provisions for families with a baby or toddler’

‘The food provided in asylum hotels meets all the NHS Eatwell standards as well as responding to all cultural and dietary requirements.

‘Where concerns are raised about any aspect of the service delivered in a hotel we work with the provider to ensure these concerns are addressed, while asylum seekers have access to 24/7 helpline to raise any concerns they have and are able to make formal complaints which will always be followed up.’

Taxpayers are paying £5.6million a day to house asylum seekers in hotels due to a shortage of official accommodation.

Another 50 migrants arrived at Dover yesterday after making the treacherous journey in the early hours.

A total of 1,180 people crossed the Channel last month, with the busiest day being January 22 when 442 asylum seekers landed on British soil.

By comparison, some 1,339 made the journey in the first month of 2022.

The source added: ‘The food provided in asylum hotels meets all the NHS Eatwell standards as well as responding to all cultural and dietary requirements’

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