Homeless Migrants Sleeping Rough Outside Westminster Cathedral Got the Shock of Their Lives
Over the Easter weekend, groups of migrants who had been sleeping rough outside Westminster Cathedral were moved on by security guards for the second night in a row. Early in the morning, photos showed several men sleeping on cardboard and using the street as a bathroom. Some had brought small tents which they packed up, while others left behind makeshift bedding in flowerbeds nearby.
By 8 a.m., security arrived and told them to leave, but local residents say this has become a nightly occurrence in this wealthy part of Central London. One man told reporters he saw dozens of people sleeping there around 7 a.m. and felt frustrated that no one seems able to stop it. He described the scene as uncomfortable for both the community and visitors to the cathedral, especially during the Easter celebrations.
Some migrants have also been seen washing in public, and neighbors feel increasingly powerless as the situation repeats itself night after night.
This incident comes just a day after the tragic news that a migrant died while trying to cross the Channel. Authorities recovered the body at the Port of Dover after a rescue operation involving Border Force and the RNLI. An investigation is now underway.
In response to the rising numbers of small boat arrivals—over 9,000 so far this year, which is 81% more than the same period in 2023—the UK government is working on new immigration policies. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper recently held talks with the UN Refugee Agency about creating “return hubs” in countries like Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, and North Macedonia. These hubs would house migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected and who have no further right to stay in the UK.
The idea is to offer a more “safe and legal” alternative to previous proposals, like the controversial Rwanda plan, which the courts blocked. The new scheme would only relocate people after their asylum claims are denied. The UNHCR appears to support the new approach, so long as the hubs meet human rights standards. They’ve said they would keep monitoring them to ensure those standards are upheld.
Other countries, including the Netherlands, are also looking at similar options, and Albania currently has two unused migrant detention centers that could potentially be repurposed for this.
The debate over how to manage migration continues, especially as the number of people crossing the Channel remains high. Since the last election, more than 28,000 small boats have made the journey without official permission. The government hopes the new return hub plan will help restore order to the system and reduce the pressure on local communities.
