Aberdeen finds itself at the forefront of the bitter battle over asylum hotels, as Reform UK is accused of sinking to a “new low” with its deportation plan.
As part of its campaigning, Nigel Farage’s party has promised to build detention centres away from any area which elects a Reform politician or a Reform-controlled council.
It has vowed to target areas run by the Greens for its migrant deportation facilities because of the left-wing party’s support for “open borders”.
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Towie star dies in Majorca in ‘tragic accident’
Jake Hall, 35, was found dead
at his rented villa this morning, having sustained serious head injuries from smashed glass, reports claim.
Caption: 516274694
Photographer: SamanthaJ
Copyright: GC Images
What we know
The Civil Guard in Palma are investigating Hall’s death, who was on holiday at the time. Police are said to be investigating the theory that he died after “hitting his head against the glass door”.
No arrests have been made but four men and women who were staying at the hotel have been interviewed.
CULTURE
3 min read
TELEVISION
3 min read
Who was Jake Hall?
The model and footballer shot to fame after appearing on the reality show The Only Way is Essex in 2015, quitting in 2024.
He had a child with fellow reality star Missé Beqiri of The Real Housewives of Cheshire in 2017, and the pair were in an on-and-off relationship. He had a second home in Majorca and often spent time there.
Caption: 513608052
Photographer: SamanthaJ
Copyright: GC Images
WORLD
2 min read
Everything you can
and can’t do in a
polling station
Heading to the polls for the
local elections today? Here’s everything you need to make
sure you’re able to vote, and
some dos and don’ts for when
you get there
Caption: Flaeda the poodle, named after the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, poses for a picture outside a polling station in London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 as she waits for her owner during the UK 2026 local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Photographer: Kirsty Wigglesworth
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
What do I need to bring?
You must bring photo ID to vote in England
In Scotland and Wales, you won’t need to show ID to vote.
Polling card
You don’t need to bring this with you, but it might speed up the process.
Pen or pencil
These will be provided though you can bring your own if you wish.
NEWS
4 min read
Who can I bring with me?
Children are allowed into the polling station with you, though they shouldn’t write on your ballot paper. Pets usually have to be left outside, except assistance dogs,
Caption: A dog named Obi-Wan Kenobi outside the St James Church polling station in Edinburgh as voters arrive to cast their votes in the 2026 Holyrood elections. Picture date: Thursday May 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Nick Forbes/PA Wire
Photographer: Nick Forbes
Provider: Nick Forbes/PA Wire
Source: PA
Caption: Men and their dogs look at signs outside the polling station at St James Church hall in Inverleith, Edinburgh, as voters start to cast their votes in the 2026 Holyrood elections. Picture date: Thursday May 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Photographer: Jane Barlow
Provider: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Source: PA
If you are disabled, you can bring someone with you to help you vote as long as they are over 18 – they do not need to be registered to vote. Polling station staff can also help you, and you are allowed to bring your phone into the polling booth as an accessibility aid.
A closer look at the dos and don’ts
The polished glass back is highly reflective, but doesn’t appear to attract as many grubby fingerprints as its rivals (Photo: i)
Taking selfies
Taking a photo or video in the ballot booth is illegal, as your vote is meant to be secret.
Political discussions
Campaigning isn’t allowed so don’t speak about candidates or wear political slogans.
Caption: Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey (centre), MP for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, and MP for Dorking and Horley, Chris Coghlan, surrounded by supporters during a party rally at Redhill Memorial Park in Surrey, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the local elections on Thursday. Picture date: Wednesday May 6, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Photographer: Andrew Matthews
Provider: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Source: PA
Nigel Farage with Reform UK candidate Trevor Shonk whilst canvassing for voters ahead of local elections, in Ramsgate, Kent on Thursday (Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP)
Drinking
People who have been drinking or are drunk can vote, unless they are disruptive.
Know your rights
You don’t have to vote, so there’s no reason for you to turn up at the polling station if you don’t intend to do so. If you do go, it’s worth knowing that:
You are entitled to spoil your ballot paper, for example by writing a message in protest . This will be recorded.
Don’t put your name on your ballot paper – If you do it won’t be counted as it’s meant to be anonymous
“Tellers” – volunteers on behalf of candidates – will sometimes stand outside polling stations and ask for your polling card number so they can remind people who haven’t voted to do so. You don’t have to give them your information.
Caption: A group of commuter trains sit in a railway siding in London, U.K. Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
Photographer: Bloomberg Creative
Provider: Getty Images/Bloomberg Creative
Source: Bloomberg Creative Photos
TRAVEL
Train passengers warned of ‘major disruption’
Train services across southern England are being disrupted by a fault with a radio system. National Rail Enquiries said the issue relates to how train drivers and signallers communicate.
It warned passengers that services may be delayed by up to 45 minutes or cancelled, and “major disruption is expected until the end of the day”.
The services affected
The affected operators are CrossCountry, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, London Overground, Southern, South Western Railway (SWR) and Thameslink.
Exclusive
4 min read
NEWS
3 min read
A closer look at the detail
The incident was reported shortly before 9am on Thursday.
SWR warned that services across its entire network “may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised”.
The operator advised passengers to consider using buses “while the fault is being investigated”.
TRAVEL
5 min read
news
Two Brits self-isolating after hantavirus outbreak
Caption: Medics escort a patient, second right, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, to an ambulance after being flown to Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Photographer: Peter Dejong
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Three Britons have now left the ship, as one man with symptoms evacuated in the Netherlands and two having flown home before the outbreak was discovered.
Contact tracing effort launched
Two British people who left the MV Hondius and returned to the UK two weeks ago have been told to self-isolate. Their close contacts are being contacted to let them know the risk.
Three people have died so far from the outbreak on the ship.
Caption: Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Photographer: Misper Apawu
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Explained
3 min read
Who is still on the ship?
About 150 people are still on board the cruise ship, which is now docked in the Canary Islands, including 18 British passengers and four crew members.
Hantavirus is the same one that claimed the life last year of Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
Caption: A Bombardier Challenger 605 medical plane allegedly carrying some of the people believed to be infected with hantavirus passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, lands at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. A plane that left Cape Verde following the evacuation of a cruise ship hit by the hantavirus landed in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 6, while a second flight headed for the Netherlands. (Photo by Lina Selg / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: LINA SELG
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
They are expected to be flown home by chartered plane once it is confirmed they do not have symptoms. They will also be asked to self-isolate to minimise the risk to the public in the UK.
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a group of 38 viruses carried by rodents such as rats, mice and voles, most of which can cause disease in humans. Symptoms vary from too mild to be noticed, to severe lung and kidney problems and even death.
It is thought it was brought onto the ship by a Dutch couple who visited a landfill site in Argentina.
Rats are a common source of hantavirus (Photo: Denitsa Kireva/ Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Contamination could be caused by the previous presence of a factory, power station, landfill site, a mine or petrol station (Photo: Andrew Newark/Getty Images)
Caption: Martin Anstee one of the suspected hantavirus patients removed from the vessel MV Hondius.
Source: Facebook
Former police officer in stable condition
I’m very pleased he’s now in hospital and receiving the treatment he needs.
PROFESSOR ROBIN MAY, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER AT UKHSA
Martin Anstee, 56, was evacuated from the ship in the Netherlands yesterday after becoming ill with the virus. He is now in hospital and his condition is being monitored.
news
Amazon delivers its first package by drone
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
The retailer has become the first in the UK to make a delivery by sky, with a pilot scheme running in Darlington, Country Durham. It hopes to slowly expand the option across the country.
Air drop
From tape measures to chocolate bars
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
A local farmer let Amazon use his land for test drives, ordering everything he could think of under the designated weight of 5lb (2.2kg) to be delivered.
Exclusive
3 min read
Demand is rising
The certainty is people have never told us they want their stuff slower. This is effectively an autonomous drone that can do what a pilot does in a flight deck. It can do what ground crews do, and it can deliver a package.
David carbon, vice president of amazon prime air
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
How does it work?
Parcels are dropped from a height of…
12ft
Amazon is using its most advanced drone, the MK30, to deliver in Darlington.
At the moment, it only works for those with gardens or backyards for the parcels to be dropped off.
170,000
The number of successful flights completed so far – but more testing is needed before they are approved for UK-wide use.
Drone delivery is already available in five US states.
Why eating eggs five times a week could
cut Alzheimer’s risk
People who eat eggs more regularly could have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
Caption: A detail of cracked egg falling into the pan as woman holds egg shells in both hands.
Photographer: SimpleImages
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
What does the study show?
Having eggs at least five times a week suggests a…
27%
lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, compared with those who rarely or never eat them.
The research followed nearly 40,000 adults aged 65 and over for an average of 15 years.
980,000
People are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK, with Alzheimer’s the most common cause.
This is forecast to rise to 1.4m by 2040 as the population ages.
What’s so special about eggs?
Photographer: Andrew Brookes
Provider: Getty Images/Image Source
Source: Image Source
Copyright: Copyright Andrew Brookes
A no-brainer
Eggs contain choline, which the body uses to make acetylcholine, a chemical involved in memory and learning.
Nutritious and delicious
Eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin, the yellow-orange pigments in food which could act as antioxidants.
(Photo: Laurie Ambrose/Getty).
Caption: Eggs are seen in a carton on Monday, April 13, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Photographer: Jenny Kane
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Egg-ceptional
They also provide some omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked with cognitive function.
HEALTH
The potential cause of common type of stroke uncovered
Caption: Closeup of elderly Asian man visiting neurologist explaining stroke risk using artery model ??? discussing brain health and blood pressure
Photographer: PonyWang
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Researchers have pinpointed the potential cause of a type of stroke suffered by about 35,000 people in the UK every year.
The discovery could explain why widely used treatments don’t work, and could pave the way for new options.
What does the study say?
Lacunar strokes – triggered by damage to tiny blood vessels – are caused by the widening of arteries in the brain, researchers say.
This is unlike ischaemic strokes, which are caused by a blocked blood vessel.
This could explain why usual treatments, such as anti-platelet drugs, which stop blood clots from forming in the arteries, do not work.
Lacunar strokes can lead to problems with thinking, memory, movement and dementia.
Divorce Diaries
5 min read
New treatments are needed
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute tested and tracked 229 people who had a lacunar or mild non-lacunar stroke. Patients with widened arteries were four times more likely to have a lacunar stroke.
Scientists argue that ‘holistic’ approach is needed to brain disease prevention and treatment as the world faces a dramatic rise in cases of stroke, dementia and other conditions. (Photo credit: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images)
A retired infection control nurse says it isn’t possible to “hand wash” your way out of the quad-demic.
She says hospitals need better ventilation and mask wearing to tackle the crisis (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)
This explains why conventional blood-thinners don’t work and highlights the need for new therapies to target the underlying microvascular damage.
Stroke research ‘chronically underfunded’
Stroke research is chronically underfunded, with less than 1% of total UK research funding spent on the condition…Yet these findings illustrate the value of research and the potential it has to change the lives of stroke patients.
MAEVA MAY, STROKE ASSOCIATION
Caption: Embryologist performing embryo cleaning under microscope in Petri plate after IVF next day in real laboratory
Photographer: Natalia Lebedinskaia
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Copyright: www.natasha-lebedinskaya.ru
Alzheimer’s can be seen on brain scans (Photo: Tek Image/Getty)
HEALTH
The at-home test that can predict Alzheimer’s risk
Scientists have developed an at-home test which can predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.
It involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment to help identify people at the highest risk.
How does the test work?
Caption: Cropped shot of young woman using blood test kit at home while doing health check and consultation online. Home finger-prick blood test.
Photographer: Oscar Wong
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Blood test
Finger-prick blood tests look for biomarkers, p-tau217 and GFAP, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Online brain tests
Scientists look at the blood test alongside computerised cognitive testing to identify risk.
Students are offered free laptops as an incentive for joining universities (Photo: PA)
Caption: File photo dated 18/05/17 of an elderly man holding a walking stick. Drugs that are said to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease “make no meaningful difference to patients” while increasing the risk of swelling and bleeding in the brain, according to a new review. The effects of the medicines on those with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia were “either absent or consistently small”, researchers said. Issue date: Thursday April 16, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Photographer: Joe Giddens
Provider: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Source: PA
Prioritise patients
The test results can be used to prioritise high-risk people for further testing and treatment.
At-home tests to ‘revolutionise’ diagnosis
Finger prick blood tests could revolutionise dementia diagnosis – they offer a low cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and who should be offered further checks.
DR SHEONA SCALES, ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH UK
Scientists have long been trying to understand the root cause of Alzheimer’s (Photo: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images)
Residents in Aberdeen – preparing to vote at this week’s Scottish Parliament election – know just how heated and divisive the issue can be.
The small north-east port city had 424 asylum seekers staying in hotels – more than anywhere else in Scotland, according to the Government’s annual figures in December 2025.
Residents have seen anti-immigration protesters face off against anti-racism activists outside hotels over the past year.
The Home Office recently pulled migrants out of the Sure Hotel in the city centre, part of Labour’s effort to gradually shut all asylum hotels across the UK.
However, hundreds of new arrivals are thought to still remain in other hotels and former student accommodation blocks in and around Aberdeen.
And Aberdeen City Council expects a 30 per cent rise in “displaced households” coming to the city in the next 12 months, according to a report by its housing committee.
‘Reform plan is horrific’
Voters who spoke to The i Paper shared their anxiety about the hotel issue – but some appeared to be appalled by Reform’s campaign pledge to build detention centres in Green-run areas.
Fiona Robertson, who has taken part in counter-protests outside hotels, said Reform’s promise was “horrific”.
The 45-year-old disability campaigner said: “Building camps is bad enough – but treating people’s lives and safety as weapons against political enemies is insanity.
“Screaming outside hotels – it’s cruel to target people and make them afraid,” she added on recent protests. “It breaks my heart.”
Jamie Morrison, 49, said Reform is scaremongering
Jamie Morrison, a 49-year-old retail worker who told The i Paper earlier this week she is planning to vote Green, said: “It’s scary that Reform has taken off in Scotland. It’s embarrassing.
“The idea of detention centres and army barracks – it’s too prison-like. Farage is using the asylum issue to scaremonger. He doesn’t actually care about anything.”
‘Reform at least understand’
Some Aberdonians are anxious about the ongoing influx of asylum seekers, and told The i Paper earlier this week they were planning to vote for Reform.
Farage’s party has been polling between 15 and 20 per cent in Scotland for the past year. The final More in Common MRP survey, published on Monday, put them on course to win 22 seats and become the second-largest party at Holyrood – behind the SNP, but ahead of Labour.
The More in Common poll published earlier this week has the SNP on course to take all the constituency seats in Aberdeen – though Reform is expected to pick up regional seats under Scotland’s voting system.
Michael Henderson, 52, said earlier this week that he was planning to vote for Farage’s party, largely over his frustration at asylum seekers staying in hotels.
“They’re hanging around the streets not doing anything,” he claimed. “They’re getting everything for free in the hotels. We haven’t got the housing, we haven’t got the services. Reform at least understand. Labour, the SNP, the Tories, they just don’t listen.”
Asylum seekers in hotels who have meals provided get £9.95 a week from the Home Office. Those in self-catered accommodation, such as student flats, get £49 a week.
‘Asylum hotels are creating a ghetto’
Brian Taylor, who lives just outside Aberdeen, said he was a traditional Labour voter worried about the asylum issue. He is unsure who to vote for now.
“I do worry about the number asylum seekers coming,” said the 77-year-old. “They’re cut off in these hotels. It’s creating a ghetto. They’re not always fitting in with our way of life.”
But Taylor is not convinced by Reform UK or its pledge to build detention centres. He said: “I don’t trust anything Farage says… They’re just old-school Tories.”
Philip Gordon, a SNP voter, thinks the Reform plan is ‘nonsense’
Philip Gordon, 68, a hospitality worker who says he will vote SNP, said Reform’s pledge was “nonsense”. He added: “You can’t send immigrants away to certain places like that. You have to try to spread people around fairly.”
Gordon does not like the anti-asylum protests happening in the city. “Shouting at people at hotels is not a protest, it’s abuse.”
However, he does worry about migrant numbers. “The issue is there are not enough houses and not enough jobs. I suppose we have to try to accommodate them somehow.”
Gloria McShane, a resident living near to asylum seekers, said Reform’s rise was based on ‘hatred’
Gloria McShane lives next to a former student block which began to house asylum seekers last year. “There’s been no issues, other than the unpleasant protests,” said the 65-year-old.
“It’s really bad that Reform has grown here in Scotland… If Reform get elected it won’t make anyone’s lives any easier.”
Voters ‘won’t take kindly to bullying’, Reform warned
According to charities and churches working with migrants, at least 240 asylum seekers are still thought to be staying at hotels in and around Aberdeen. And almost 300 asylum seekers are said to be living in former student accommodation sites.
A group called Unite the Clans Aberdeen Against Illegal Migration (AAIM) has previously organised protests outside hotels, with Stand-Up to Racism Scotland holding counter-demos.
Rev Dave McCarthy, the pastor at Westhill Community Church, just outside the city, said there has been a “lot of misleading stuff” about what asylum seekers receive at the anti-asylum protests.
He said the church had helped migrants with clothing and practical advice. “I think they get £10 a week [from the Home Office], so it’s not as if they’re getting much. We’re certainly not giving them laptops.”
As voters prepare to go to the polls on Thursday, Reform has said that a Farage government at Westminster would try to build detention centres in any areas held by the Greens in Scotland.
Planning legislation could be changed if necessary, Glasgow Reform candidate Thomas Kerr told The Herald. “Vote Green? Then sadly live with the consequences,” he said.
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer responded: “Reform UK are now openly threatening voters. Scots will not take kindly to this kind of bullying.”
The SNP called Reform’s plan “vile”. Labour described it as “grotesque” and a “new low”, and the Scottish Tories dismissed it as “half-baked” and “divisive”.
A Home Office said the hotel closure in Aberdeen was one of 11 such facilities recently shut by the Government. “We will close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, with asylum seekers moved into basic accommodation including former military sites.”
Aberdeen City Council and Unite the Clans AAIM were contacted for comment.