A defiant hotel owner declined an “obscene amount of money” offered by the Home Office to close her establisment so that it could be used to house asylum seekers.
Dee Allen, who runs Hatters Hotel with her husband in Skegness, Lincolnshire, said she was offered £10,000 a week in September 2021 to house 52 refugees for at least three months – but refused as she believed it would have a “negative” impact on the area.
Mrs Allen, 35, claimed the Government made her the same “obscene” offer in October this year, but she refused for the same reason.
“We said at the time that we would never, ever do that to the community,” Mrs Allen said.
“They were also saying to us that it would be for an indefinite amount of time, not for just three months. They came back to us about four weeks ago and made us the same offer but we said no, because our morals just wouldn’t allow it.
“We’ll plough through and if we fall on the ground and hit rock bottom, that will be it. We will never, ever, ever accept the money.
“We’d rather die, I think.”
But at least five hotels in the coastal town have reportedly accepted the Home Office’s offer to house asylum seekers, reports Lincolnshire Live.
Matt Warman, Conservative MP for Skegness and Boston, said the situation was the result of the immigration system “creaking at the seams” and stated the town was “not the best place” for asylum seekers to be housed in hotel accomodation.
“It’s going to turn into an absolute shambles,” Mrs Allen said.
The Home Office says that using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers is “unacceptable” and labels it as a “short-term solution”.
“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6million a day.
“Serco is contracted by the government to provide accommodation for the asylum seekers entering the UK and claims that the use of hotels is a “last resort”.
The above summary was derived from the story linked below
Source: Hotel owner refuses ‘obscene amount of money’ to house refugees
