Lord Timothy Kirkhope, a former immigration minister of the UK, has expressed regret over the Stop The Boats rhetoric used by the previous Conservative government, which he believes may have contributed to the unrest in Hull in August 2024. This was after a banner with the same slogan was seen during the riots in the city, where asylum seekers were housed. Lord Kirkhope accused politicians of stoking negative emotions towards refugees, leading to its hijack by those “in support of more extreme views and activities”. However, the Conservative Party declined to comment.
Lord Kirkhope urged politicians of all parties to choose their words carefully and exercise self-restraint, as he believed that some of his fellow politicians in the Conservative Party had made inflammatory remarks in the past. Meanwhile, Dr Mick Wilkinson, an academic in criminology and social justice at the University of Hull, also called for action against politicians and tabloid newspapers who have pushed “aggressive” anti-immigrant sentiments. Wilkinson expressed concern that the hostile comments made by Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, have whipped up racist hatred without facing any criminal charges.
According to the most recent figures, just over 97,000 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2024, with the largest cohort of applicants being from Afghanistan. The number of people arriving by boat is much lower than by air. As of September 4, 21,977 people had crossed the Channel, which is more than in the same period in the previous year, but fewer than in 2022. In 2023 as a whole, 29,437 people came to the UK in small boats. The Royal Hotel in Hull, housing asylum seekers, was attacked during the August riots, but one Egyptian asylum seeker said that he felt welcomed by the locals when speaking to reporters after the riot.
Bashir Siraj, the chief officer of the charity Welcome House, noted that racist abuse experienced by migrants in Hull has increased after the riots. He added that they are now getting three or four people every week sharing their experiences compared to the previous situation when only one or two people shared similar experiences. Siraj expressed his concern over the rise in racist incidents targeting migrants after the riots broke out.
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