Dudley Council told to sue Home Office over asylum seeker hotels

Marco Longhi said it was "deeply unfair" to place asylum seekers in properties in the borough while constituents were struggling to get social housing.

It comes after local authorities including Stoke-on-Trent sought emergency injunctions over hotels in their areas being repurposed to temporarily house migrants.

Dudley North MP Mr Longhi has backed Home Secretary Suella Braverman to tackle the migrant crisis, which he described as a "national emergency".

In a letter to Dudley Council, Mr Longhi said: "I request the council to take swift action against the Home Office if it is ever established that a hotel/hostel or any other accommodation, such as care homes, have been repurposed in Dudley by the Home Office.

"My constituents should be prioritised and a democratic process seeking their consent should always be implemented first."

Mr Longhi's intervention came after The Local Government Association warned that many councils across the country are not being told in advance of Home Office plans to use buildings for asylum seekers.

The Express & Star revealed that Serco – which runs the scheme for the Home Office – currently has 22 hotels in the West Midlands that are being used for asylum seekers, while at least three other prominent Black Country buildings are set to be taken over.

Other buildings such as care homes and holiday camps are being sought due to the huge number of migrants crossing the Channel to the UK in small boats.

The Home Office has described the use of hotels to house migrants as "unacceptable" and vowed to end the practice.

Dudley Council last week launched an investigation into the former Castle Meadows Nursing Home on Dibdale Road, after it emerged the building was being run as a hotel without local authority planning permission.

Mr Longhi urged bosses to let the public know what is going on. He said: "Local people have a right to know who is occupying these premises."