Activists film inside Leicestershire asylum seekers' house; Serco investigates

Mixed · 2A Home Office accommodation provider, Serco, is investigating after content creators filmed themselves entering a house in Leicestershire that accommodates asylum seekers. 1 2 Mixed · 2The video, titled "HMO Hunting in Leicestershire", was posted by the Truthhurts101UK account, which describes itself as run by an "English nationalist citizen journalist" covering "immigration, demographic change, policing and stories others overlook". 1 2 Mixed · 2The footage shows three men entering through an unlocked back door and moving through several rooms, including the kitchen, repeatedly saying they were looking for "paperwork". 1 2

Mixed · 2When they met three men believed to be asylum seekers in the kitchen, they said they were contractors assessing the property for repairs; one resident confirmed the house was run by Serco and said he had no "paperwork". The man filming showed a lanyard, but it is unclear what it said. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Mail reports the village as Fleckney, citing the account's post about a "6 MAN HMO" where locals had been told five men would be housed; the Guardian says the narrator names the street and village, making the house clearly identifiable, but does not print the name. 2 1 Mixed · 2YouTube said the video breached its harassment and cyberbullying policies, which bar content revealing personally identifiable information, and removed it after the Guardian flagged it. It remains on X, where the Guardian reported more than 300,000 views and the Mail 469,000. 1 2

Mixed · 2A Home Office spokesperson said the safety and security of those in asylum accommodation, staff and communities were of the "upmost importance" and that it expects any instances of criminality to be taken seriously. 1 2 Mixed · 2Louise Calvey of Asylum Matters called it "a premeditated invasion into someone’s home for clicks and attention" and urged the government to remove shared accommodation details from the public domain and speed up police responses. 1 2 Mixed · 2A TH101UK spokesperson defended the footage, called the asylum seekers "ticking timebombs" and dismissed the Guardian as "irrelevant" and a "rag"; the Mail adds the account later shared the Guardian article, calling it a "hit piece". 1 2

Mixed · 2The Guardian places the incident in a trend of far-right activists and self-styled "auditors" trying to enter asylum accommodation, with houses of multiple occupancy now a target as hotels are phased out, and notes the same account entered a Norfolk property months ago. The Mail links the rise in HMOs to government efforts to move asylum seekers out of hotels, citing 472,823 estimated HMOs in the UK by 2025. 1 2