Lee Anderson says he is sympathetic to asylum hotel protestors

Conservative Party lawman president Lee Anderson has said helium has sympathy with radical protesting extracurricular hotels providing refuge for asylum seekers.

A spate of protests person been organised astatine hotels crossed the state successful caller weeks, with immoderate ending successful convulsive clashes with police.

Many person been led by anti-immigrant groups specified arsenic Patriotic Alternative.

Mr Anderson said protesters were "just mean household people" with concerns astir the information of their community.

Speaking to the BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, Mr Anderson said: "When you unrecorded successful a community, you expect to beryllium harmless and you don't similar abrupt change.

"That is however humans behave."

The Hope Not Hate run radical accused Mr Anderson of "parroting the misinformation utilized by the far-right to exploit hotels".

"This is precisely the aforesaid benignant of myths that the far-right are peddling to whip up hatred astir hotels," a spokesperson said. "We can't person a Conservative MP amplifying these messages."

One antheral was charged and 14 different radical were arrested aft a constabulary serviceman and 2 members of the nationalist were wounded erstwhile missiles including lit fireworks were thrown astatine a protest extracurricular a edifice accommodating asylum seekers successful Kirkby connected 10 February.

The archetypal protestation had been triggered by an allegation that a antheral had made inappropriate advances to a section teenage girl.

Patriotic Alternative, whose policies see deporting non-whites, were contiguous astatine protests astatine hotels successful Skegness and Newquay.

Several hotels successful Skegness person since been boarded up up of a planned further protestation against their usage to location asylum seekers.

The latest Home Office figures amusement 37,000 asylum seekers and Afghan refugees are surviving successful UK hotels astatine a outgo of £4.7m per day.

When asked if helium had sympathy with radical protesting extracurricular the hotels Mr Anderson said: "Of people I do.

"These are not far-right extremists, they are conscionable mean household radical from immoderate of these towns and villages that are upset that overnight 200 to 300 young men person arrived.

"And past they are saying things to young girls - and I cognize determination person been a fewer attacks and immoderate horrible incidents.

"So of course, radical are going to beryllium concerned."

Mr Anderson grew up successful Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, a erstwhile mining country which helium present represents arsenic MP. He was appointed lawman Tory president by Rishi Sunak past month.

Since becoming an MP helium has recovered himself astatine the centre of media storms for his outspoken views connected issues specified arsenic migrant Channel crossings, his enactment for the decease penalty, and the usage of nutrient banks.

He aboriginal defended his comments, saying helium was gladsome to person started a "debate" connected the issue.

In his interview with Nick Robinson, helium said anyone earning an yearly wage of £35,000 "should not beryllium utilizing a nutrient bank" erstwhile asked astir a enactment implicit whether nurses had utilized the resource.