In photos: demonstration held outside hotel at West Sussex village as ‘asylum hotel’ protests take place across UK

The event started at 11am outside the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick and had been publicised in advance through fliers across the area.

The fliers advocated a ‘peaceful protest’ with ‘no masks’ and ‘no alcohol’.

Slogans on the fliers said ‘protect our community’ and ‘let our voices be heard, not our discord’.

Photos sent to this newspaper showed demonstrators waving British and English flags. Some of the signs read ‘England is full, no vacancies’ and ‘protect our children, secure the border’.

Police were also spotted at the scene of the protest.

Sussex World reported in October 2023 that more asylum seekers would be moved into two hotels in Crawley. The news story said the Local Government Association had previously warned about the cost impact housing asylum seekers has on stretched councils.

Following a different demonstration outside a Chichester hotel on Friday, August 8, 2025, West Sussex County Council had said that hotels in the county are sometimes used to house asylum seekers and migrants temporarily.

A spokesperson said: “There are a number of facilities across the country, including here in West Sussex, that provide contingency accommodation to both people seeking asylum in the UK and people settling here as refugees. These are sometimes hotels used temporarily when no other safe options are available. All contingency accommodation facilities for both asylum seekers and refugees are run by the Government. Contingency accommodation for people seeking asylum in the UK is managed by the Home Office.

“Asylum seekers are people who have fled their own country to seek protection in another country by applying for refugee status.”

The council said refugees in the UK are people who have come to the country under a government-approved resettlement scheme, which offers a safe and legal route to refugees needing protection. They said contingency accommodation for refugees is managed by the Ministry of Defence. The council said: “Contingency accommodation supports them to do so temporarily while longer-term solutions are found.”