Hull's Royal Hotel no longer housing asylum seekers

The Royal Hotel in Hull is no longer being used to house asylum seekers, the city council has confirmed. The hotel on Ferensway was used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers for more than six years and was attacked during a city centre riot in August 2024. The government has pledged to close all asylum hotels and, in July, Hull City Council leader Mike Ross said the Home Office had informed him the process would be completed by the end of October. The council confirmed on Tuesday that everyone had been moved out of the hotel. The Home Office has been approached for comment. In July, Ross said the Home Office had not yet committed to a "permanent end of the use of the facility". He said the council would "continue to press the Home Office for answers and solutions on this matter". The government has pledged to stop the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029. The latest government figures, published in August, showed 16,000 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels – 50% fewer than the previous year. The government said fewer than 160 hotels were still in use, down from 400 in 2023 which cost £9m a day. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, and watch the latest episode of Look North. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices