Treatment of Palestinian family-of-seven branded ‘horrifying and inhumane’

The Joint Council for The Welfare of Immigrants has expressed its concerns at the treatment of the family

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A full family rather than ‘fighting age men’, who did not arrive by boat, who are fleeing a genuinely catastrophic conflict and with a child doing her very best to contribute to our society. On paper, the family-of-seven from Gaza booted out of the Metropole Hotel tick every box that asylum seeker sceptics say they’re looking for.

None of that has stopped them from being moved to what is now their third asylum seeker hotel since arriving in September 2024 - this time for what they perceive as a punishment for speaking with the media about the state of the Metropole.

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Treatment of Palestinian family-of-seven branded ‘horrifying and inhumane’

The Metropole Hotel

By Luke Beardsworth

A refugee family-of-seven booted from Blackpool’s controversial Metropole Hotel after raising concerns about their living conditions with journalists have been subject to inhumane treatment.

That is the verdict of a leading UK charity fighting for the rights of asylum seekers.

The Blackpool Lead reported last week that a family-of-seven had been moved out the Metropole Hotel, the centre of concern and criticism about the state of the building, to Telford with almost zero notice.

The father of the family believes they were forcibly moved in retaliation from the hotel’s management after speaking with ITV News journalists. Serco, who is contracted by the UK government to manage the hotel and others like it, denies this .

Along with causing general disruption and upheaval for a family stuck waiting to hear if their asylum claim will be accepted by the Home Office, the eldest daughter was dealt a serious setback to her education as she looks to adapt her nursing qualifications to the UK.

The family left Gaza for Iran in early 2024 to escape as the area was being reduced to ruins. It was when they were faced with being returned that they turned to the UK, arriving by plane to London in September 2024. They were placed in accommodation at Daresbury Park in Cheshire - another asylum hotel - until its closure in early summer 2025 when they were moved to Blackpool.

On October 23, two members of the family spoke with ITV News about the conditions at The Metropole - concerns that were first reported by The Blackpool Lead in July.