Asylum families left unprotected from mob as 'confused' police were sent to the wrong hotel

Only a group of up to 100 counter-protesters protected the hotel and the families inside After the cavalry arrived - the people continued to protect the hotel in Redcliffe After the cavalry arrived – the people continued to protect the hotel in Redcliffe(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

A hotel housing parents and children seeking asylum in Bristol was left unprotected from a violent mob after police chiefs sent officers to the wrong hotel, in the middle of last year’s disturbances at Castle Park and Redcliffe.

Police officers were told by those in charge of the policing operation to go to the Holiday Inn hotel in Temple Meads, when the target of the far-right protest had been widely advertised as the Mercure Hotel in Redcliffe.

It meant that when around 60 anti-immigrant protesters arrived at the Mercure, it was unguarded and the only protection for the families inside was a group of between 50 and 100 counter-protesters, who lined up across the entrance and were violently attacked.

Police chiefs in Avon and Somerset defended the operation and their officers on that day of violence last summer, but a statement from the Deputy Chief Constable made no mention of the mistake which led to the hotel being unguarded by police at the moment the far-right mob attacked it.

The episode has been confirmed in an official Government-commissioned report. Researchers were asked to put together a report entitled ‘Understanding the 2024 Summer Riots in the UK: Three Case Studies’, led by academics from the University of Sussex, which looked at what happened in three places – Hanley, Tamworth and Bristol.

Among the research were seven interviews with the police, 13 with protesters and one with an eyewitness. The research paper outlines the build up and events of Saturday, August 3, 2024, which saw protesters gather in Castle Park prompted by an e-flyer entitled ‘Enough is Enough’ and a ‘stop the boats’ hashtag.

The event was publicly planned as a gathering in Castle Park then a protest march to Redcliff Hill, where the Mercure Hotel had been converted to house families seeking asylum a year before. At the time around 300 people seeking asylum and refugee status were living there, and more than half of those were children, the report details.

From the start of the gathering in Castle Park, Avon and Somerset Police deployed officers to the hotel in Redcliffe, but at 7pm they were called back to reinforce police lines as the situation between the protesters and the police, and counter-protesters, had escalated in Castle Park and around Bristol Bridge.

Officers were then sent back to guard the hotel, but were sent to the wrong one. The report said: “Although there had been a police presence at the Mercure Hotel an hour previously at 19:00, the police support unit was withdrawn, to aid the policing situation in Castle Park.

“Police were then redeployed to organize the protection of the asylum seekers, (mainly women and children) and staff at the hotel, but were given incorrect information and sent to a Holiday Inn hotel instead of the Mercure,” it added.

“This left the hotel unprotected by the police,” the report said. “There seems to have been some awareness amongst A&S commanders that the Mercure hotel had become vulnerable and that some participants might be heading there, as had been advertised in the e-flyer announcing the protest.

“The Bronze commander in Castle Park, along with their Public Order Public Safety (POPS) team, was redeployed to organise protection of the asylum seekers, mainly women and children, and staff at the hotel, but were given incorrect information and sent to the Holiday Inn instead.

“After realising there was ‘nothing going on there’, they returned somewhat confused to Castle Park and continued supervising the operation there. This led to a situation where there were no police commanders present at the Mercure when the assault on it by anti-immigrant participants began in earnest,” the report added.

An anti-facist demonstrator is punched by a another man as two groups of protesters clash in Castle Park in Bristol

“At 7.55pm, around 60 far-right protesters got out of the trouble at Bristol Bridge and went to the hotel, there were no police there at all,” the report continued.

“At around 19:55, 60 anti-immigrant participants arrived at the hotel when it was unguarded, but did not attack it immediately,” the report said. “About five minutes later, a group of 50-100 counter-protesters arrived who had circumvented the police cordons on Bristol Bridge by running down Welsh Back and crossing the Redcliffe bascule bridge to get to the hotel.

“They were being followed by seven officers on bicycles. By 20:10, some of the counter-protesters had linked arms to form a cordon protecting the entrance to the hotel, whilst others gathered in front of them to protect the cordon from attack. The hotel management put the building into ‘lockdown’ whilst asylum seekers and their families looked on from windows on the upper floors.

“A few minutes later, the bulk of the anti-immigrant participants arrived, expanding their numbers to around 100-150. They arrived from two directions, from Redcliffe to the north and from Bedminster to the south. They crossed the dual carriageway, throwing missiles at the counter-protesters and launching forays into them.

“Four police officers drew their batons and tried to intervene at the front of the hotel entrance, but were overwhelmed and largely ignored by the anti-immigrant participants. The police cycle unit formed a loose cordon with their backs to the counter-protesters on the northern side of the front of the hotel.

“They were heavily outnumbered and sent a message to their Bronze commander requesting immediate assistance as groups of anti-immigrant participants began to physically assault them to get at the counter-protesters and the hotel entrance,” the report added.

The report detailed the violent scenes outside the hotel’s entrance, as the far-right mob attacked a line of counter-protesters protecting the hotel and the families inside.

“For around 10 minutes, the main body of the counter-protesters came under concerted attack including missiles being thrown, kicks and punches, and racist and homophobic abuse. A police eyewitness stated it was in the ‘top five most violent incidents’ they had witnessed in their 25-year career.

“At about 20.30, eight mounted police officers arrived and separated the two crowds at the front of the hotel. A few minutes later several police support units arrived. The police reinforcements formed a line in front of the counter-protesters on the dual carriageway, and at 20:52 Redcliffe Hill was closed to traffic.

After the cavalry arrived - the people continued to protect the hotel in Redcliffe After the cavalry arrived – the people continued to protect the hotel in Redcliffe(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)

“A tense stand-off ensued, with the anti-immigrant participants grouped behind the dual carriageway barrier hurling abuse and the counter-protesters in the cordon protecting the entrance to the hotel. At 21:15, most of the anti-immigrant participants began to leave and head back towards Redcliffe roundabout. They were jeered by the 250 counter-protesters at the hotel, who remained in the protective cordon,” the report added.

On the night of the protest and in the aftermath, questions were asked of Avon and Somerset police about why the hotel had been unguarded when the far-right mob arrived, when it was obviously the advertised target of the entire demonstration event.

At the time, police chiefs said they had had to call back those officers initially sent to guard it, because the situation in Castle Park had escalated, but they made no mention of officers being sent to the wrong hotel.

In a statement to Bristol Live in response to the report, Deputy Chief Constable Jon Reilly made no mention of the mistake either. “Hundreds of police officers, many of whom came in to work on a day off, put themselves in harm’s way throughout the course of Saturday 3 August to protect the public,” he said.

“Each and every one of them deserves enormous credit for their actions that day, which were carried out in the face of disgraceful violence and abuse. It was an incredibly complex and dynamic policing operation which prevented anyone coming to any serious harm,” he added.

“Officers were deployed outside the Mercure Hotel throughout the evening before they were briefly used to support colleagues nearby where the risk was deemed greater.

“Within minutes officers returned to separate the two groups gathered outside the hotel. Despite being faced with disgusting physical and verbal abuse, they showed immense courage in protecting the public.

“Since that day, a thorough investigation has taken place which so far has resulted in 44 people being sentenced for their involvement in the disorder,” DCC Reilly added.

Asylum families left unprotected from mob as ‘confused’ police were sent to the wrong hotel

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