Peckham: Man hurls racial abuse at asylum seeker protest

Protesters around a coach in Peckham, south London, on Thursday

A member of staff from a coach due to transport asylum seekers from a hotel in London has been caught on camera hurling racial abuse at a protester.

Protesters and police in Peckham, south London, clashed over the planned transfer of asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.

A person not part of the protest group was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence, police say.

The man allegedly targeted by the abuse said he was "taken aback".

Forty five people were arrested after protesters and police clashed during the protest which began when activists surrounded the coach at a hotel at about 08:40 on Thursday.

At about 15:00 the coach departed without a single asylum seeker on board.

The Met Police has said that during the protest, some of its officers reported being assaulted. A Home Office spokesperson described the protesters' behaviour as "intimidatory and aggressive".

The arrests were for offences including obstruction of the highway, obstructing police and assault on police, as well as the racially aggravated public order offence.

In the footage obtained by BBC Newsnight, the member of coach staff can be heard shouting racial abuse.

The abuse appears to have been aimed at a man called Alex, a prominent protester, who told the BBC afterwards he had been "shocked" by the language.

"I was taken aback, I was particularly targeted," he said. "It says a lot about where things are at."

BBC Newsnight, which obtained the footage, was unable to verify what exactly had happened in the run-up to the outburst.

Approached by the BBC, the coach company Grange Travel said they would not be issuing a statement because of a live investigation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Metropolitan Police are investigating, therefore we are unable to comment on this specific incident. The Home Office expects the highest standards from contractors and will not hesitate to take robust action when necessary."

Protesters say that Bibby Stockholm is not a suitable place to house asylum seekers, and those due to be taken there had built relations in the community in Peckham and did not want to be moved.

The Home Office abandoned plans to move a group of asylum seekers to the Bibby barge in the wake of protests in Margate last week.