Home Office refuses to confirm if Peterborough's Dragonfly Hotel still being used to house asylum seekers

The Home Office has refused to confirm if the Dragonfly Hotel in Peterborough is still being used to house asylum seekers.

Up to 146 male asylum seekers were moved into the 70-bedroom hotel near the Rowing Lake in Thorpe Meadows on November 14.

The decision sparked outrage among residents and local politicians, with MP Andrew Pakes campaigning for the hotel to be “stood down as soon as possible”.

Mr Pakes, along with North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling and Peterborough City Council leader Dennis Jones, wrote a letter to Illegal Migration Minister Dame Angela Eagle to express concerns about using the hotel.

The letter argued that the hotel is ‘wholly unsuitable’ for the purpose of housing asylum seekers and would ‘significantly impact local services’.

The two local MPs also sent letters to residents in the area to reassure them and to provide a point of contact if householders had any worries.

While the Home Office previously claimed the use of the Dragonfly Hotel would be a temporary measure, the department could not provide a timescale on when the asylum seekers may leave.

When asked if asylum seekers are still being housed at the site, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly.

“This includes our accommodation sites, as we continue to identify a range of options to reduce the use of hotels.

“We are already closing some hotels and will continue to engage with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”

Peterborough City Council confirmed it had helped facilitate donations of winter clothes to the asylum seekers from residents and Mosques, but could not confirm if asylum seekers were still at the hotel.

The announcement that the Home Office was to use the Dragonfly Hotel came a year after officials had stood down the historic Great Northern Hotel as a refuge after around 80 asylum seekers were moved in on November 11, 2022.