Two arrested after huge migrant hotel protests in Norfolk

Police have arrested two men after video footage was reviewed of large anti-migrant hotel protests in Norfolk this week. Large gatherings erupted outside The Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe and The Park Hotel in Diss in the East Anglian county on Monday.

A spokesperson for Norfolk Constabulary said: "Police have made two arrests following protests outside hotels in both Diss and Bowthorpe last week. It comes following a review of available footage from both sides of the protest and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"The two men aged in their 20s were arrested this morning (Saturday 26 July 2025) on suspicion of affray and taken into custody at Wymondham Police Investigation Centre where they remain."

This week saw multiple protests across southern England against hotels which are cashing in on schemes to accommodate illegal migrants and asylum seekers. Labour has been rocked by the increase in protests with calls for the PM to shut down the process.

The growing unrest comes as French authorities confirmed a man died attempting to reach the UK this morning (Saturday) via the illegal small boats Channel migration route.

The man suffered a cardiac arrest on board a boat attempting to reach the UK which was turned back towards Equihen beach in northern France on today. When the boat arrived at the beach, a man was found on board in cardiac arrest, the Pas-de-Calais department's sub-prefecture said.

Despite emergency services intervening at the scene, the man died soon after. An investigation is under way under the authority of the prosecutor to determine the circumstances of his death.

According to UK Home Office provisional statistics, almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK in 2025.

Speaking after the protests in Norfolk this week, local Green Party MP Adrian Ramsay said in a post on X that he believed the unrest was caused by "groups from outside our community".

He said: "Diss is a town rooted in compassion and decency.

"What happened in Diss last night was wrong. Groups from outside our community came here to create fear and division.

"That is not who we are."