A hotel in Datchet could be used to temporarily house asylum seekers, according to Windsor MP Jack Rankin.

Mr Rankin claimed he had been told by a Government Home Office official on Wednesday, October 30, that the Manor Hotel would be used to house asylum seekers ‘within 24 hours’.

A Home Office email Mr Rankin shared with the press said this was an ‘urgent’ and ‘short term’ measure to meet the Government’s ‘statutory obligation to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute’.

The email adds the Government is ‘committed to ending hotel use’ for housing asylum seekers. But it said it needed to temporarily house asylum seekers in Datchet due to ‘demands on the system’.

READ MORE: 'No crimes reported' at Datchet hotel that houses asylum seekers

The email said: “I apologise for the lack of notice on this occasion. It is not a decision we have taken likely, or an approach we would wish to take, but want to underline the Home Office’s commitment to work with our partners in Windsor as we bring this site into temporary use.”

In a statement, Mr Rankin branded the decision ‘outrageous’.

He said the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead had also been given ‘minimal notice’ when the hotel was previously used to house asylum seekers in 2022.

And in a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, which referred only to the asylum seekers as ‘illegal immigrants’, the Conservative MP said the decision raised concerns for ‘security’.

He said there had been ‘reports of drug dealing and antisocial behaviour the last time the hotel was used’.

However, speaking in December 2022 – three months after asylum seekers were moved in – Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, a Conservative, said there had been ‘no crimes reported’.

Mr Rankin said: “I struggle to believe that the mere hours of notice we have been provided with could not have been avoided.”

Berkshire Refugee Support Group CEO, Nick Harborne, warned against ‘scaremongering’ over refugees. He told the Observer: “As with the general population there will always be some people who fall foul of the law. That’s not to say that every single asylum seeker is dangerous.

“To stereotype and generalise is just unacceptable.”

Mr Harborne also said it is ‘misleading’ to describe asylum seekers as ‘illegal immigrants’.

He said: “There is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. It’s covered by the refugee convention and anyone is allowed to seek asylum in a country of their choice They do not have to stop in a so-called safe country on their way here and it is not illegal to sale in the channel.”

He added: “These people need help. And if they find their way to England and to Berkshire then I for one and the staff and trustees believe we should be helping or fellow human beings with dignity and respect when they get here.”

The Home Office said it doesn’t confirm where refugees are housed for safeguarding reasons.

But a spokesperson said the Government is 'absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options to minimise their use'.

The spokesperson said: “This government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.

“We have taken immediate action to restart asylum processing which will save an estimated £7 billion for the tax payer over the next ten years, and are delivering a major uplift in returns to remove people with no right to be in the UK. Over the long term this will reduce our reliance on hotels and costs of accommodation."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead declined to comment.