Last Updated on November 4, 2022
Labour MP Dianne Abbott says the alleged rape of a teenage boy at a hotel used to house illegal migrants using taxpayer funds is “what happens when you demonize migrants.”
One boy was reportedly raped while another was sexually assaulted at a London hotel being used to house migrants. An unidentified man in his 30’s has been arrested in connection with the rape, while a 17-year-old has been charged with committing the sexual assault, which reportedly involved a child under the age of 13.
“Police were called on Wednesday, 5 October to a report of a rape at a hotel in Waltham Forest,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said of the October incident. “Officers attended and spoke to the victim, a boy in his teens, and his family. Specialist support is being provided,” he continued.
The man — who was staying in the hotel as part of a program that uses taxpayer funds to house migrants in hotels — has since been bailed out and released following his arrest.
Dianne Abbott, a veteran Labour politician who previously served as the party’s Shadow Home Secretary until 2020 and currently serves on the Home Affairs and Justice select committees of the House of Commons, commented on the incident in a tweet.
“Teenage boy raped at hotel housing refugees. Terrible case. But it is what happens when you demonise migrants and take NO responsibility for safeguarding migrant children,” Abbott wrote.
Teenage boy raped at hotel housing refugees. Terrible case. But it is what happens when you demonise migrants and take NO responsibility for safeguarding migrant children. #SuellaBravermanOut pic.twitter.com/TDTCNwBF5Y
— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) November 3, 2022
Abbott is no stranger to controversial statements that aggravate ethnic tensions. In 2021, she falsely claimed that Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson was shot in the head because she “stood up for racial justice.”
Authorities later reported that Johnson was caught in the crossfire of a gang-related shooting that involved black men.