Scottish Government considering protest buffer zones outside asylum hotels

The Scottish Government is considering buffer zones around hotels housing asylum seekers.

It comes after protests outside a hotel in Perth at the weekend and several others around the country since last summer.

In 2024, buffer zones were brought in preventing protesters from gathering within 200 metres of clinics where abortions are carried out.

Scotland’s First Minister said that people have a right to protest but that it was “unacceptable” when that caused distress for others.

“There was a really ugly set of events outside one of the asylum hotels in Perth, that’s in my own constituency, and I’ve heard reports about all that was experienced,” John Swinney told STV News.

“A suggestion has been made that we look at buffer zones, a suggestion made by my parliamentary colleague Pete Wishart, and we’ll explore that because I think there are arguments in favour of that to make sure that the right to protest is assured but also that the safety of other individuals is assured into the bargain.”

Demonstrations outside asylum hotels began last summer, with protests taking place in Aberdeenshire, Falkirk and Perth.

The anti-migration protesters held up signs with slogans such as “Perth is full – empty the hotels” and “get them out”.

The UK Government said it would end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Around 36,000 asylum seekers were housed in hotels at the end of September, the latest available figures show, with the Home Office saying fewer than 200 hotels are now in use.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is attempting to demonstrate progress on deterring small boat crossings and cutting the asylum bill, with the home secretary said to expect further hotel closures by April.