PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: British counter-terrorism police arrested five Iranian nationals living in migrant hotels connected to an alleged terrorist plot.
👥 Who’s Involved: British Counter-Terrorism Police, five Iranian suspects.
📍 Where & When: Arrests took place on May 3 across England, reported on May 7.
💬 Key Quote: “The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation.” — Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.
⚠️ Impact: The report comes as many are also concerned about the staggering costs of housing asylum seekers in hotels across the country.
IN FULL:
Counter-terrorism police in Britain raided hotels housing asylum seekers last weekend, arresting five Iranian nationals over alleged terror plot fears. The arrests took place in London, Manchester, Swindon, Rochdale, and Stockport in the early hours of May 3.
The five men are reported to be aged 24 to 46, with one being released on bail, while the remaining four suspects are still in police custody as of May 7. Some of those arrested are believed to have entered the United Kingdom illegally, but reports did not specify if they came via boat across the English Channel, like many illegal immigrants in recent years.
“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, said.
While not all asylum seekers in Britain are housed in hotels up and down the country, the sums the government pays for migrant hotels are enormous. A report from March of last year suggested that taxpayers foot the bill to the tune of £15 million (~$20 million) per day to cover the costs.
The residents of the hotels have seen their share of criminal behaviour in recent months, including the murder of a woman working at an asylum hotel in Walsall, England, last October. A migrant from South Sudan was accused of killing 27-year-old Rhiannon Skye White at a railway station, stabbing her to death.