EXCLUSIVE: Dennis Canavan has lent his support to the idea after a series of angry clashes outside the Cladhan Hotel in the town.
People protesting in Falkirk(Image: PA)
A former Falkirk MP has backed a clampdown on protests outside asylum hotels after angry clashes in the town he served for decades. Dennis Canavan said he would support an “exclusion zone” around hotels if the police do not protect asylum seekers.
The Labour Government is trying to close asylum hotels after a spate of protests across the UK. Campaigners fear the demos have been hijacked by the far Right and thugs with criminal histories.
A petition by the Falkirk for All group is demanding an “exclusion zone” outside the town’s Cladhan Hotel, which houses asylum seekers and has been a magnet for protests. In practice, a zone would mean the protestors being unable to demonstrate outside the hotel.
Canavan was the MP and MSP for the Falkirk area for decades and later became chair of the Yes Scotland group. Speaking to the Record, he criticised the behaviour of the people outside the hotel:
“I had the privilege of representing the Falkirk area for over a third of a century and I always found the people of Falkirk to be very welcoming. The people protesting about asylum seekers are causing deep offence to other human beings and are threatening to tarnish the good reputation of Falkirk.
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Former Labour MSP Dennis Canavan said he is against assisted dying(Image: Reach PLC)
He said: “I support the right of peaceful protest but some of the protests have been far from peaceful. For example, there have been reports of people shouting racist abuse and intimidating the hotel residents as well as causing a severe nuisance to local people.
“If the police are unable or unwilling to use existing laws such as breach of the peace to deal with the problem, then I would support the suggestion of an exclusion zone.”
Canavan was a Labour MP from 1974 to late 1990s but was elected as an independent MSP in 1999.
MSPs last year passed a buffer zone law which bans protests close to abortion clinics.
Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who steered the legislation through parliament, believes a similar curb should be in place to protect asylum seekers:
“Safe access zones have hugely reduced the size and number of anti-choice protests near hospitals and it’s definitely something that the government should look at in relation to hotels.
“These protests are totally wrong. They are designed to spread fear and scare people who have been through terrible circumstances. They have been whipped up by people from outside Falkirk who are trying to spread prejudice and division in our town. They don’t reflect the wonderful community that I represent or the town that I’m proud to call home.”
Weekly demonstrations have been held between opposing groups outside the Cladhan Hotel.
Anti-racism protesters have held signs with messages such as “stop the far right”, “I was a stranger and ye took me in” and “these poor people are not your enemy”.
Protestors opposed to asylum seekers being housed there have been seen holding messages saying “Falkirk says no” and “veterans before migrants”.
Four people were arrested at a demo outside the hotel earlier this year.
Locals in the Highlands have also reacted angrily to Home Office plans to house 300 asylum seekers in an army barracks in Inverness.