The Norfolk market town of Thetford has become the latest epicentre of protests linked to government plans to house asylum seekers at former military sites, with residents saying they are “frightened” after three consecutive nights of disorder.
Six people have been arrested over this week’s unrest. An officer was hit with a rock, one spat at and another “seriously bitten” on Wednesday, police said.
Tensions had been building since the Government in June proposed moving thousands of asylum seekers into disused military facilities to clear hotels across the country currently housing migrants. One of these proposed sites, RAF Barnham, is located about two miles south of Thetford town centre.
Some protesters targeted residential properties they believed were housing asylum seekers, police said, adding that some asylum seekers had to be escorted from homes as a result of the unrest.
Residents told The i Paper that the protests they saw began peacefully before growing violent.
Protesters targeted and damaged houses they believed were housing asylum seekers (Photo: PA)
‘People can barely find jobs right now’
If plans are approved, RAF Barnham could house up to 1,250 adult male asylum applicants aged 18 to 65, the Home Office said, adding that the site would have security personnel and CCTV, and would operate for “a minimum of ten years”.
One resident and business owner in Thetford said he does not condone the recent protests turning “violent” but that he disagrees with the “silly” proposals regarding the old Ministry of Defence (MoD) site.
This person, like others interviewed for the article, spoke to The i Paper on Friday on the condition of anonymity or asked that their full name not be published, to protect their businesses and family.
“I think the town would get ruined because it’s quite small and that many new people would stick out,” he said.
“People can barely find jobs right now, people can barely survive right now, so to be dumping 1,200-odd new people here too, I don’t agree with.”
The man said he “was not from English roots” but had “never experienced anything negative towards myself or my business” during his 16 years in the town. He suggested that “people may have come from outside [Thetford] to stir things up a bit, add racism and violence [to the protests] because the people in town are very nice people”.
Norfolk Police have not commented on where the Thetford protesters came from, or the possibility of outside influence. Two years ago, residents in Southport alleged that far-right rioters were seen arriving in the Merseyside town from other parts of the UK, spurred on by immigration-related misinformation regarding a fatal knife attack at a dance class.
“I don’t think that represents the whole town,” he continued, adding that residents fear asylum seekers could “work illegally, work cheaper – and people will be upset with that when they’re already struggling to find a job themselves.”
A total of six protesters have been arrested this week in Thetford (Photo: James Linsell Clark/SWNS)
‘The place could erupt’
A separate fear, another long-time Thetford resident said, stems from the thought that “monstrosities” seen by locals on social media could come to their doorstep.
“The [asylum seekers] that are coming to Thetford haven’t done anything wrong – yet,” said Wayne, a truck driver who has lived in the town for the past decade. He said that he, similar to other parents he knows in the area, worries for his young daughter’s safety having seen reports of previous attacks by some migrants in the UK on social media.
“If these people moved in, you probably wouldn’t know the difference, but it is being forced at you on a daily basis that some monstrosities are happening and the government doesn’t seem to be listening, so people are frightened.
“Nothing has happened here yet, but people think it is going to happen, even if it’s a very small minority of people who are actually offending. And those that are coming here who really just want to settle down, it makes it difficult for them.”
Locals fear that an influx of immigrants will make it even harder to find jobs (Photo: Martin Pope/Getty Images)
He added: “Then there’s the angle that we’re paying taxes to look after them when we can’t even look after our own people. It’s expensive now, to live in this country, and when you’re struggling yourself, that’s when you see people start to flare up and kick off.
“We all live through our screens and we’re living in a century where too many believe everything they see. I don’t think it’s going to get any better and if they do move into that camp, I think the place is going to erupt.”
‘Put Thetford back decades’
The local Labour MP, Terry Jermy, previously criticised the plans to use RAF Barnham, calling on the Home Office to end the “secrecy and confusion” around the proposals.
But Jermy has since been heavily critical of the unrest, saying it has “put Thetford back decades” and was frightening residents, particularly “people from minority ethnic communities who are contacting me terrified that they are going to be misidentified as an asylum seeker and attacked”.
Thetford’s MP says the unrest has “put Thetford back decades” (Photo: Martin Pope/Getty Images)
Jermy said he was aware of properties being “pelted with eggs”.
One local business owner who lives and works near one of the sites of Thursday’s protests said the protests should be “peaceful” but added that she “can understand why there are residents acting like this, why people are mad and getting angrier”.
“I believe the problem will increase if [the asylum seekers] won’t be moved from Thetford or other towns, especially when we saw the videos of what’s going on in Spain,” she said, referring to thousands of migrants seen flooding the enclave of Ceuta.
“When I came here 20 years ago I followed the law, all of England’s rules, I came here legally and I paid to be here,” she said.
“I’m not against immigration but it should be legal, even with asylum – we should know who they are, names, ages, why they are here – and I’m confused that policemen are protecting them more than us.”
Norfolk Police’s Chief Constable said some protesters have ‘crossed the line’ (Photo: Scott Hussey/SWNS)
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Norfolk Police Chief Constable Paul Sanford said protesters had “crossed the line” as he defended his force’s actions.
Sanford said: “We have people who are exercising their right to protest, and, of course, we will support that. There are people who live in Thetford who are concerned, understandably concerned, about some of the things that are happening in their town.
“However, across three consecutive nights, a group of people have crossed the line as to what is acceptable. And we have been appropriately policing those behaviours.”