At today’s Prime Minister’s Questions South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, raised the issue of asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels, given the concern about the use of the Old Palace Lodge.
The full script of the engagement was as follows,
The warm welcome given to Ukrainian refugees by so many is extremely heartwarming. Does the Prime Minister understand, though, how upset my constituents are to have had bookings for weddings and other special family events cancelled when the Home Office took over a much-loved hotel, and will he redouble his efforts to put an end to that practice?
My hon. Friend’s constituents and indeed the whole country can be proud of the welcome they have given to people from Ukraine over the last year. I can assure him we are committed to reducing the number of asylum seekers living in hotels at vast cost to taxpayers and considerable disruption to communities. I am grateful to the leadership of the Home Secretary and the Immigration Minister in finding a sustainable solution; the Home Secretary will make a formal update in the coming weeks on progress in standing up alternative sites for accommodation.
Speaking after Prime Minister’s Questions, Andrew Selous said
“I get the strength of feeling on this issue which is why I raised the matter with the Prime Minister as I promised to do last week. I want the Old Palace Lodge back for public use as quickly as possible and the dangerous channel crossings organised by criminal gangs ended.”
The exchange can be seen at My question to the Prime Minister on asylum seekers in the Old Palace Lodge Hotel - YouTube