Harben House hotel: Convicted criminal wins funding to house migrants

Siddharth Mahajan was jailed for 16 months in 2019 for perverting the course of justice and using copies of forged documents

A landlord jailed for using copies of forged documents related to illegal properties is to house migrants with government funding.

Harben House hotel in Newport Pagnell is due to receive 270 asylum seekers, to be accommodated in about 150 rooms.

The hotel's owner, Siddharth Mahajan, 42, from Ilford in east London, was convicted of offences linked to the operation of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).

He did not answer a request to comment.

Milton Keynes Council leader Pete Marland, Labour, described the BBC's findings as "shocking".

He said: "The Home Office are meant to be responsible for law and order, not paying convicted felons hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"It really does highlight a continued level of incompetence. I call on the Home Office to withdraw funding for the hotel and review why this was allowed to happen."

Harben House hotel in Newport Pagnell is due to receive 270 asylum seekers, to be accommodated in about 150 rooms

Barking and Dagenham council said it investigated Mahajan for converting three family homes in Barking, east London, into HMOs without planning permission.

He falsely claimed they had been in use as HMOs for more than 10 years and were therefore immune from enforcement action, but the documents he supplied as evidence were forgeries.

Mahajan was sentenced to 16 months in prison in early 2019 after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and using copies of forged documents.

In correspondence seen by the BBC, the Home Office told Milton Keynes Council in June it had identified Harben House "as a site to accommodate asylum seekers".

'Unacceptable'

The property is owned by Bluebell Tame Ltd, of which Mahajan became director on 21 July.

That company has since been taken over by his Tulip Real Estates business and the hotel was described on the company's website as "one of the most ideal hotels in Milton Keynes".

The BBC understands it will be used as longer-term temporary accommodation for people awaiting decisions on their asylum claims.

The Home Office said: "We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable.

"There are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £6m a day.

"We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people."

'Transparency'

A by-election is due to take place in the Newport Pagnell South ward of Milton Keynes City Council on 21 September.

Jane Carr, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council, said: "Local residents deserve better, they need openness and transparency from the Home Office and we need our MP to provide re-assurances that those running contracts are responsible for their business practices and are fit for purpose."

Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, Ben Everitt, said: "I have already raised this directly with the Home Secretary and asked that the use of the site is suspended and a full investigation is conducted after the current cohort of asylum seekers are processed.

"We need to find out the facts as the people of Newport Pagnell deserve much better than this."